The Stages of Engagement
by Nadz Libinski
Summary: Accepting an unexpected marriage proposal from an emotionally stunted man was one thing, dealing with a super religious, insane family, who did not believe in gay marriage, and friends who thought they were planning a royal wedding, was another. Sequal to The Stages of Acceptance
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: As much as it pains me to say this, I do not own Naruto. I am not that fortunate. This disclaimer is in effect for the entire story.**

**_Author's Note: This is the sequel to Stages of Acceptance. The story was originally written in the past tense but I've decided to put it all in present sense and fixed mistakes, just to see how it goes. It's unbeta'd so if there is any glaring errors, please let me know. _**

**CHAPTER ONE**

It is a normal morning on the twenty-seventh floor of the Uchiha Hotel, also known as Sasuke's penthouse. It is freezing outside- the weather man claimed it the temperature wasn't going to drop below twenty-five, but he lied. It feels like it's ten degree outside. It's of course snowing- the weather man also said that the Tri-State area should experience some flurries, and as usual, he lied. The snowflakes are the size of pennies and they're falling down pretty hard.

I really hope it doesn't snow all day. There is nothing worse than dealing with rush hour during a snowstorm.

Unfortunately, newspaper companies do not offer snow days like the schools- not that they close every often, only when there is a threat of a hurricane or a massive epic snow storm coming along, and even then, there isn't a guarantee. And since I do not have work-snow days, I have the lovely honor of going out in the freezing cold.

Nor do they offer delays.

Which is why I am up, eating my pork ramen at six o'clock in the freaking morning, dreading the fact that I have to go to work in twenty minutes. There should be a law against this, not just for days of crappy weather but for everyday. There shouldn't be a reason why a workday has to start at seven am.

All I want to do is go back to bed, bury myself under all of the covers and stay in it for at least another few hours. I'm living on two hours of sleep thanks to the article that I've decided not to work on until last night.

Procrastination should be the eighth deadly sin.

Sasuke is sitting across from me, reading a newspaper and drinking tea- it is the fancy kind, imported from another country because apparently tea made in American isn't good 'enough'- while having his ever-present scowl on his face. He has to leave for work too- well, he is really supposed to be at work now, an hour ago, but thinks that since he's the manager of Uchiha Hotels, he can go in a little late.

Itachi may not feel the same way, but it's too early to get into a fight with the bastard about that.

I take a bite of my ramen and glance up at Sasuke. He seems to be really into whatever he's reading. He doesn't notice me staring at him. Instead, he reaches for his toast, glances at the clock and continues reading.

I blink.

Okay… the bastard's been acting a little strange all morning- not that this isn't weird because, hello, this _is_ Sasuke- but he is unusually quiet- the only word he said this morning was 'good morning' and that happened thirty minutes ago.

He hasn't started any arguments; he hasn't insulted my intelligence; he hasn't done anything. He hasn't even complained about my unhealthy obsession with ramen- though in my defense, my love for ramen is not unhealthy; it is not my fault that he cannot understand that amazingness that was ramen.

I need to get to the bottom of this before I lose my mind. I take another large bite of ramen before asking, in a very concerned voice, because seriously, there shouldn't be a reason why the bastard is acting like this, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Sasuke slowly puts down his mug and proceeds to glare at me- which is a normal occurrence but this isn't his normal glare. Oh no, I have never seen this glare before.

He doesn't say anything. No comebacks, no telling me to stop talking and leave him alone. Nope, all he does is pick up his mug, take a long sip of his tea, stares at the newspaper for a bit with a nervous glint-

Oh damn, there _is_ something wrong with the bastard.

"Sasuke… are you okay? Do you need to go to the emergency room? I know you don't like going there but-"

"_Naruto_."

My eyes widen in horror. He has said my real name; not idiot, not moron, no, my real name- now, I know this may sound wrong, because I'm pretty sure this is borderline verbal abuse although I shouldn't be the one to talk.

I put my spoon down and swallow the rest of ramen loudly- Sasuke cringes in disgust. I should not freak out about this; all he's done is say my name, but the way he's said it- there's something eating at him.

"Do you need to see Ino? She's a therapist, you know. She deals with crazy people all the time, not to say that you're crazy, but you can talk to her about your issues-"

Sasuke shifts in his seat. He pushes the mug aside, lets out a deep sigh, folds his newspaper, puts that neatly to the side and decides that it is a good idea to stare blankly at the table.

This is getting way out of hand.

Now Sasuke's actions may not alarm other people, but I know his antics, way more than I consider comfortable. See, unlike normal people, Sasuke isn't a straightforward type of person. He likes to speak in code- and he has the emotional capacity of a rock but that's for another story. But it is okay for I am fluent in "bastardian" (and yes, it's a real language, thank you very much). That is one of the benefits of living with him with him for a year and dating him for even longer.

I pick up my spoon and go back to eating my ramen. I continue to watch Sasuke's odd behavior. I know he won't tell me what is going on unless I force it out him. He's not the type of talk about his infinite amount of issues. I have offered him many times to see Ino- she would have to psychoanalyze him, and she may even do it for free. Of course, Sasuke has declined many times and insisted that there is nothing wrong with him.

He is so in denial it's not even funny.

"Sasuke, seriously, you're scaring the living-"

"We should get married."

"Daylights out of me and I will call-"

Hunh?

I drop my spoon once I realize what the bastard's just said. I don't care if the ramen juice has splatted on him. My jaw drops. "What did you just say?"

What the actual-?

_Married_?

"I said: we should get married."

For the record, I am not having a panic attack. I have been cured from those a long time ago, according to Ino. No, my chest does not feel like it is about to explode and no, I am not asking myself I am in a dream. No, I can handle this. People ask people to marry them all the time-

Of course most do it in a more romantic setting with nice food and a random man playing love songs on the violin, not right before they have to go to work.

Not that I'm complaining because, you know, I'm not a romantic.

I don't think…

Anyway, the point is, I am not having a panic attack.

"It's a simple question," Sasuke says in a bored tone. From the disgusted look he is giving me, I am pretty sure that thanks to my mouth being so wide opened from shock, I have ramen threatening to come out of it. Well, I'm sorry; I haven't expected him to ask- more like suggest- me to marry him, during breakfast, right before we have to go to work, right before-

Oh wait, the bastard did this on purpose!

"Asking someone to marry you isn't a simple question," I mumble. It takes some people years to decide whether or not they want to spend the rest of their lives with someone. "And for the record, it was a suggestion, not a question."

"I do remember mentioning this before…"

No, he did not-

Oh wait, he did.

But that didn't count. We didn't have a conversation about getting married. So, he muttered it before, but that was during sex… I didn't think he actually _meant_ it; people said things like this all the time during sex. I just thought he liked the way I was kissing his neck.

"I thought you were joking."

I don't think I need to describe the look Sasuke gives me.

I dare to look up him, completely stunned. Oh my God, he is serious. He is very serious about this marriage thing. I- I don't know what to say…

It's too damn early to think about the rest of my life!

I haven't really thought about getting married. Sure, it is expected from my family and town that I settle down with a nice woman and have as many religious babies as possible- then again, they've expected that I stayed straight and that hasn't turned out too well.

I've accepted the fact that Sakura, my ex who is currently in love with my boyfriend- was going to be my wife for quite a while until she decided to cheat on me with Rock Lee- that was another story- but um, yeah, the thought has never crossed my mind.

"Sasuke…"

It's quite obvious that Sasuke doesn't understand the gravity of this situation because all he does is roll his eyes, mumble about my lack of intelligence- ah yes, there's the Sasuke I know- and toss the newspaper at me. "Read the front page."

I give him a mean look. Why on earth does he want me to read something at this moment? I'm trying to figure out what the hell I am going to do with my life. I pick up the paper and read the headline.

_Oh_.

"New York State Legislature legalizes same-sex marriage," I slowly read out loud, completely stunned beyond belief. "Becoming the largest state to pass the law…"

This explains a lot.

"Do you really mean it?"

Because with Sasuke, one has to make sure he's serious about something. You never know what goes on in that head of his. And also because this is a huge unexpected step in our relationship.

"I would not have suggested it if I did not mean it."

Good point.

I take another bite of ramen; I tend to have epiphanies when I eat it. I know I should say something, like a real answer, you have to understand- I am not mentally prepared for this. Not that I don't want to be with Sasuke. Although he is a bastard and can be an asshole most of the time, I do like being with him.

But it would've been nice if he had hinted that he wanted to take things to the next a little sooner- only so I would not look like an idiot, staring at him as if he just told me I got promoted.

"Okay," I blurt out. This has to be the most awkward proposal in the history of proposals. If anyone asks about it, I'm just going to make up a story that sounds remotely romantic, that doesn't involve a newspaper or a glare. "Let's get married."


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

I've been engaged for three days and so far the only people who know about the engagement are me and well, the bastard. It's not my fault. I'm a busy man and some people may not take the news very well. It's not like I can call my folks back home and tell them- hey, guess what? I'm getting married!

Tsunade would probably die from shock.

Anyway, I've decided that if there is one person I should tell, it would be Ino. I have to break the news in the calmest way possible, and in a place where there will be a lot of people present. That way, Ino will have no choice but to keep her crazy behavior to a minimal.

We are currently sitting in one of the coffee shops downtown. I haven't been prepared to see my former therapist/on and off best friend during my lunch break, but after I've stupidly told her that I needed to speak to her, Ino always expecting the worst, has insisted, more like demanded, that we should meet up.

"There better be a good reason why you want to talk right now. I had to leave a session early because of you! I'm pretty sure my patient thinks I'm neglecting him. He has serious abandonment issues, you know."

I roll my eyes. This is just like Ino, always blaming me for things that have nothing do with me. Anyway, I told her to meet me after work, not during. "That's not my fault. I didn't think you would come here in ten minutes."

"Of course I would," Ino says, stealing my fries. The nonfat, no- carb diet she is supposed to be on is apparently not working as well as she claims. "You said it was an emergency. Even though you do get on my last nerves sometimes, I do care about you."

"Aw Ino, that's so sweet of you to say."

Ino brushes off my compliment. "Just tell me why we're here. I have to meet up with another client within the hour."

"It's actually a funny story," I begin scratching the back of head. "I'm getting married."

Ino's jaw drops. Wow, she may be even more shocked than when I told her that I had a one-night stand with the bastard. Her eyes widens and after a few moments of doing nothing but stare at me, she clears her throats. And does it again. "What do you mean you're getting _married_?"

"Remember when I said on the phone that the bastard did something that I didn't expect?" Ino nods. I continue, "Sasuke proposed to me on Monday, right before I went to work. He's a sneaky bastard; he knows that I don't function correctly early in the morning- because if I did I would've given him a handful for being completely unromantic about the whole thing."

Ino blinks and takes a sip of her coffee. She leans back in her chair, not once removing her suspicious, astonished eyes from me. She drinks her coffee again before saying, "Sasuke does not do romance; I thought you of all people would know-" She stops then frowns. "Wait a minute, Monday was three days ago!"

"Yeah…?"

I know this sounds bad. Ino is my friend and it is my duty as a good friend to tell her important things like me thinking about spending the rest of my life with my boy- fiancé, but-

"You mean to tell me that you waited three days to tell me that you're getting married?"

I start a staring contest with my lap and meekly respond with, "Yes…"

"I'm you friend, damn it. You're supposed to tell me things right after they happen, not three days later."

"If it makes you feel better, you're the only who knows."

Ino glares at me as she snatches more of my fries- now why would a coffee shop serve fries, I have no idea- and angrily shoves them in her mouth. "I'm going to forgive you for not telling this early only because I told you do and now you owe me thirty bucks."

I groan. Of course she would remember that bet.

Ino nods and smiles triumphantly. "Oh yes, I told you that he was going to propose. It's not my fault that you've made a bet against me. You know you're horrible at betting."

Look, I didn't think the bastard was going to ask me to marry him. He never mentioned anything about marriage until Monday. I have a feeling that if it wasn't for that news article, he still wouldn't have.

I give Ino a half-hearted glare. "I'll buy you lunch, happy?"

Ino claps. "Very. So, about the wedding plans? I know you haven't started-"

"I have, thank you very much."

I have everything figured out. All I need is a confirmation from the bastard:

Sasuke and I are going to go to Atlantic City and get married. We'll have the honeymoon there. (Las Vegas was my first choice but everyone goes to Vegas to tie the knot; I want to be different.) Anyway, Atlantic City is not only close to New York City (just in case the bastard has to go back to the hotel for work) which means no planes for me, but it has nice beaches and I love beaches.

Sasuke doesn't appreciate beaches as much as I do, but who care. He will just have to get over it.

I haven't told him about the beaches and the sightseeing plans; I know he wouldn't have agreed- something about not wanting the media and the press to know and his fan base to have a massive heart attack. Which may be a very good point; his fan base is way too large and dedicated for a man who is an heir to a hotel chain, spends most of his time indoors and scowls at every living soul.

The wedding is going to be short and sweet. I'm going to invite Ino and maybe Chouji, if he get a flight from Paris. Sasuke will reluctantly drag Itachi (he claims he won't care if his brother drops dead, but everyone knows that's not true) and Karin and of course his bodyguards. We will have a nice dinner afterwards and go to the boardwalk and the casinos.

Maybe I should invite Megumi too. She is my sister and pretty much the only person back home who doesn't believe that I'm going to burn in the hellfire for being with a man (and even if she does, she isn't showing it as much as everyone else).

But if I do, she will definitely not keep the engagement a secret and everyone will know within an hour and that will only result in a disaster.

I have to admit; this is a very good plan. And surprisingly, the bastard didn't say it was a stupid idea, not that he completely agreed to it either, but he didn't say no. That's all that mattered.

While I explain my amazingly flawless, fool-proof and not to mention, convenient and cheap plan, Ino looks at me as if I have just cursed her mother out. Something tells me that she is not nearly as accepting of this epic plan as I am.

"You're joking, right?" Ino says as soon as I finish speaking. "I mean, this is all a joke. It has to be."

"What do you mean? I think it's an amazing idea.."

"You're getting married to an Uchiha, an Uchiha and you want to have a shotgun wedding at a random courthouse in some random city. What is wrong with you?"

"For you information, Atlantic City is basically the Vegas of the Northeast," I defend, not seeing an issue with my plans. It's my wedding, damn it. I can do what I want. "And the last time I check, I can't get pregnant so it's not a shotgun wedding."

"Well, according to Moegi, men can get pregnant at least in the articles she read. It was called M-preg," Ino says smirking, "Apparently, it's quite popular in certain fandoms."

"Fandoms?" I shake my head. I'm not going to ask. "There's something seriously wrong with that girl," I said, shuddering at the memory of being with her during my first trip to New York. You know that involved the church seminar from hell and my coming out party that was _not_ supposed to happen. "You should psychoanalyze your niece."

"Leave my niece alone," Ino says, taking even more of my fries. I have to hide them from her before she eats all of them. "She's in high school; it's a phase. Anyway, don't try to change the subject. We need to discuss the travesty that are your wedding plans."

"Don't you have to leave, in what? Fifteen minutes?"

Ino's glare is almost as bad as Sasuke's. Almost. No one can top Sasuke's glares, well maybe except for Gaara, but has a bunch of problems of his own.

"I know that," Ino snaps. "If you think you're getting married in a city hall then you have another thing coming. You're going to have a nice, real wedding and if anyone has anything to say about that, then screw them."

"That's pretty much my entire family minus Megumi."

Ino blinks. I guess she's forgotten that part. . "Don't tell me you didn't tell your family? Shame on you. You have to invite them to the wedding- you know what? I'm going to do it for you. I know you won't do it."

"Really, Ino, really? You do know who you're talking about, right? My parents, You know, the ones who believe homosexuality is a sin and I will burn in hell for eternity and preach to me about how I needed to be saved every single damn time I call them?"

I'm a small town where everyone and their mother is super religious. My father, Jiraiya is a pastor and my mom, Tsunade, teaches Sunday school and organized all religious functions. I am supposed to take up after Jiraiya and become a pastor too, but I've wanted to become a journalist instead.

Though, now I think about it, I don't think learning after a man who has an affair with his eighty- year old secretary and occasionally writes pornographic books will make me a better preacher.

Ino rubs her hands together and bites her lip. "You're right. This may a problem."

"You _think_?"

"Oh don't worry about it. They love you. Actually, if you ask me, I think they took the whole you dating a man thing very well. It's not like they ex-communicated you."

"You don't understand," I said. I don't why Ino doesn't see the problem. She's known my family for years. "Tsunade is going to lose it if she finds out."

"No, she's not," Ino insists. "She may be in shock but I don't think she's going to go crazy. She's a very rational woman."

"She chased Jiraiya around the house for a week."

"She caught Jiraiya cheating on her with his elderly secretary; that doesn't count."

Ino has a point. That's nothing something you hear every day. Why Tsunade is still married to Jiraiya, I have no idea.

Ino shrugs and puts some sugar packets into her purse. She quickly glances at the clock and says, "Well, look at that. I have to return to my job. We will talk more about your wedding tonight," She pauses and gives me a weird, confused look. "I can't believe he actually proposed to you."

"Can't believe? You said he was going to."

"I didn't think I could actually tell the future." She clasps her hands together. "Oh, maybe I should become a psychic on the side?'

"Ino, go back to work."

Ino rises from her seat and smirks. "Fine, I'll go now. But I'll call you tonight at nine sharp. And don't you dare say that you're busy, you don't have any articles to do and Sasuke won't come back to the city until tomorrow morning."

It's sad how much she knows my schedule...

"I do have other people I can hang out with."

Ino gives me an evil eye before leaving. "You better pick your phone." And she leaves before I can say anything else.

I don't know what her problem is. My Atlantic City plan is downright fantastic.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

"That is the most absurd idea I have ever heard."

And this is why I can't tell the bastard anything. I should have just listened to Suigestsu. He suggested after I explained to him the Atlantic City plans before I walked into Sasuke's office that I should kidnap him to the beach city and explain everything there.

But I can see Sasuke throwing a bitch fit of epic proportions and calling the whole thing off. He has a tendency to take things to the next level.

I lean back in the seat and glance at Sasuke's bodyguards and secretary who are sitting next to me. They all give me sympathetic looks in return. At least they feel sorry for me; I don't know about the bastard. "I asked you about it yesterday. You said it was fine."

Sasuke gives me a bored look and puts some files in his desk drawers. "You asked me during a very important phone conference with Itachi. And I do not recall agreeing to anything."

"Oh come on, Sasuke, don't be a bastard. It's a fine idea. We won't have to spend much money. The tabloids won't do a story on us and we don't have to worry about the fan girls or the paparazzi."

"The paparazzi are going to be after me either way."

"Not the point. It's cheap; it's convenient and I don't have to take a plane."

"The answer is no."

I pout. It looks like I am going to have to step it up to convince Sasuke that I actually know what I'm talking about. I nudge Suigestu on the side, "Suigestu, back me up; tell the bastard that we should get married in Atlantic City."

"The only way you can remotely pull this off is if you're both in disguise," He points out, trying not to laugh. "And the boss isn't going to dress in disguise."

That traitor.

"_Thank you_," Sasuke says, smirking at me. If he honestly thinks he's getting out of this, then he has another thing coming.

I narrow my eyes at Suigestu and shakes my head. He's usually my partner-in-crime when it comes to making his boss do things that he's declared he wouldn't be caught dead doing, like bungee jumping (he's still mad at me about that and still won't admit that he had fun).

I pout. I'll get Suigestu for betraying me. After all we've been through, he has to side with the bastard. "Forget about Suigestu-"

Sasuke cuts me off and turns his attention to his other bodyguard, who is deeply engrossed with his phone. "Juugo, what do you think about the moron's amazing plan?"

It's not fair to ask Juugo. Juugo almost always agree with Sasuke. He claims that he is the more sensible one out of the Sasuke's staff. He doesn't talk much and when he does, it's to argue with Suigestu or tease Karin.

Juugo looks up and blinks. "I don't think it's a good idea at all. It's classless."

I've never really liked him.

Sasuke gives me a smug look before returning back to whatever work he shouldn't be doing until his break is over. He has an issue with overworking. Of course he doesn't think he does, but I live with him. I know he's more stressed than he should be.

I should feel bad that the four of us are distracting the bastard from what he's doing. He doesn't like when people enter his office when he's on a lunch break. (I'm quite shocked that he hasn't asked me to leave him alone, but I'm not going to ask).

I normally don't visit Sasuke during the day. I usually do not come back from work until six and that depends on the traffic. Most of the time, I don't see him until eight at night, if I'm lucky. But today, I've decided to see him during his lunch break. I just came from work. I had managed to finish all of my work, including the two articles due next week; my boss, extremely impressed with my lack of procrastination, said I could leave two hours early.

"I think it's a wonderful idea," Karin announces, winking at me. "I haven't been in Atlantic City in years."

This is why I like Karin. She tends to agree with me much more than the bastard. (Sasuke claims that it's only because Karin and I have the same brain wave width; I don't think that's a compliment…)

Sasuke claims that she is the most irritating person he has ever met, including me and Itachi, and constantly complains about how she never does her job like normal secretaries. I think he only complains about people he enjoys to be around, and she can't be that useless if she still has a job (the bastard has no problem firing people who get on his nerves).

Karin is basically Sasuke's conscious and moral support at work. She is the one who tells him that threatening various people with their lives is not professional and constantly helps him improve with his people's skills. And from what I've seen, she's competent and to top it off, she loves ramen almost as much as I do.

"We are not discussing this now," Sasuke said with his signature scowl on his face.

"We need to talk about this now," I reply. Maybe I should've discussed this with him later tonight. He tends to comply with my demands a lot more when we are uh… occupied. "You said that you want to get married soon. I need to know if I should book a hotel in Atlantic City."

"I agree with your fiancé." Karin slides off Sasuke's desk (she only sits on the bastard's desk although I'm sure Sasuke's threatened her not to many times) and says, "You are on your lunch break. We can spend time talking about the wedding." She claps her hands, disturbingly reminding me of Ino. "I love weddings. Can I plan it?"

"No."

"I'm telling you; let me deal with the wedding plans. I've planned weddings before. I am a pro at this. All I need is to know the budget," Karin said. "Hey, I can even get Ino to help. I know she'll love it."

I regret the day I introduced Karin to Ino. It was the worst thing I could have done. I am still dealing with the consequences two years later.

"Are you sure that's a wise idea?" Suigestu asks. He nervously smiles when Karin glares at him. "Never mind."

Karin does not take Sasuke's rejection to heart. Instead, she rolls her eyes and gives her boss a knowing looking, "Mr. Uchiha, you and I know that you don't know a thing about planning weddings."

Sasuke glares at her. "Why would I want to have you, who thinks that the idiot's idea of a wedding is a suitable, plan our wedding? I do not understand the rationality."

Karin, who is not impressed with her boss' question, shakes her head. "First of all, I only think the location is suitable," she says, ignoring my look of betrayal. I thought she was on my side. "And I don't see anything wrong with going to the justice of the peace. But you need to have a slamming reception afterwards.

All the men exchange wary looks. I have a feeling that I'm not going to like what she's suggesting.

"I'm talking about a reception that everyone will talk about. It will be like a red carpet event. We will invite people from both sides- how about a cruise? We can sail right off the Atlantic coast." Karin declares with a serious look in her face.

I gape at Karin. She cannot be serious. "We are _not_ going on a cruise."

"Boss, I told you," Suigestu says, giving me an amused look. "I told you what would happen if you let Naruto watch Titanic too many times. Now he's afraid of cruises."

I can't believe I've ever considered him a friend. "No one is talking to you, Suigestu!"

It's not my fault that Ino and Karin made me watch Titanic in the movies three times in the row (Suigestu was forced to go the last time). It was the hundredth anniversary and Karin and Ino needed to watch a movie that would make them cry (why would anyone want to see a movie to cry is beyond me). And no, contrary to what Suigestu claims, I didn't cry at the end of the movie. And even if I, which I didn't, it was a sad movie. And so what if I declared after watching it the third time that I would never take a cruise?

Juugo covers his mouth with his hands, attempting to hide his snickers.

"Okay fine, forget about the cruise. Why don't we have a big wedding in the hotel. You won't have to pay for the venue because Itachi owns it. We can invite the who's who in the city… and we can bring Naruto's folks along too."

"No."

I dramatically throw my arms up. I can't deal with Sasuke's indecisiveness right now. It's quite apparent that he's not feeling my or Karin's idea. If it was up to the bastard, we would get married at home, and whoever would say the vows, would do so over Skype. "Then what do you want? You don't want to go to the justice and peace, and you hate big weddings."

The only answer I get from Sasuke, surprise, surprise, is a glare.

"Why don't we have a small wedding?" Juugo suggests. "In a church then have a small reception in the hotel."

Suigestu nods in approval.

Sasuke looks like he wants to throw up.

"You do know we're both men, right?" I say. "We can't get married in a church. We have to find a pastor who would actually marry us and that's going to be a pain in the ass to do."

"We are not getting married in a church." Sasuke rubs his chin, deep in thought. "Karin, find me a wedding planner. A good one. One that will not irritate me or suggest that we should have the reception on a cruise." He pauses. "Now everyone, if you do not mind, can you get the hell out of office."

Suigestu, Karin and Juugo groan before leaving. Sasuke gives me an expectant look- so, I guess he wants me to leave too. Well, fine, I will. I pout again and head to the door but not before saying in a very determined voice, "I will find a way to convince you to get married in Atlantic City." He's not getting away with him. I'm not going to let him. "Believe it."

**Apologies for taking this long to update. To tell you the truth, my writer's block has been affecting me full force and I've pretty much lost all inspiration to continue until this morning. I will try to update more frequently and not once every month. Please leave any comments, including constructive criticism. It will be greatly appreciated :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR **

Two days have passed and Sasuke still hasn't agreed to our Atlantic City Getaway, that stubborn bastard.

Since when does he care about where we get married? He doesn't even like weddings (Suigestu mentioned that most people did care about their own marriage but whatever; Sasuke is certainly not like most people) and to make matters worse, Karin is the only person who thinks my idea is a good idea.

"I don't understand you," I say sitting across from Sasuke who thinks that reading through important work papers is more important than listening to me. "What do you not like about Atlantic City? They have fancy hotels for people like you."

Sasuke puts his papers down and finally acknowledges my presence. "For the last time, this decision has nothing to do with me," he admits. "I can care less, however, my parents will certainly not feel the same."

I gape at him. His _parents_? Does he even know they are? They are currently taking an extended vacation on some exotic island because Sasuke's father apparently had a mental breakdown from being in charge of Uchiha Hotels. "You're inviting your parents?"

Sasuke gives me a 'you cannot be serious' look. Okay, maybe that wasn't the wisest question, but I don't even think the bastard remember the last time he has talked to them.

"Of course I am. They are my parents."

"What about Itachi?"

"I will inform Itachi when he gets back from his business trip."

I slightly frown. "That's not for another two weeks."

"Exactly."

"We will be married by then, if everything works out."

"I know."

I am about to ask Sasuke more questions about this new development but the phone decides to ring- how convenient. Sasuke gives me a totally undeserved glare before answering the phone. His expression returns to irritation. He sighs and hands me the phone. "It's your mother. She doesn't sound too pleased."

I groan. Great, Tsunade is going to chew my ear off with a long lecture; she always does this when he is in the good mood. I do not know why she should be mad unless-

I hold the phone to my ear and gulp. "Hello, mom. How are you?"

_"What is this I hear about you getting married?"_

Damn it!

She knows, holy crap, she knows. She knows everything about the engagement. I'm going to kill Ino; she's probably the one who told her mother who told Tsunade- after I told her that I would announce the news at a more suitable time.

I give Sasuke an alarmed look. He only raises an eyebrow and returns to reading.

"How did you-?"

_"It doesn't matter how I found out!"_ Tsunade screams. I can hear Shizune, her personal assistant, suggesting my mom not to yell so loud. God Bless Shizune's soul. _"My God, Naruto, are you trying to give me a heart attack?"_

"No."

Ino and I are going to have a long talk tomorrow when I meet up with her for lunch.

_"Then tell me this engagement is only a rumor that Ino's mother made up. You're not really thinking about marrying another man, yes?"_

I let out a deep breath. I can't lie to her, no matter how appealing it sounds at this moment. She is going to find out anything, and I rather have her hear it from me. "Well, New York did legalize same-sex marriage, and Sasuke thinks it will be a good idea…"

I ignore the dirty look the bastard gives me. I don't know now what his problem is. It _is_ his idea.

Not surprisingly, Tsunade does not take my answer will. She begins to rant about the irrationality of gay marriage, and how I should be ashamed of myself for accepting the proposal, and allowing the destruction of the sanctity of marriage.

Sasuke, noticing my distress, writes a note suggesting that I should hang up. I'm pretty sure he can hear every word Tsunade is spewing. The idea sounds nice, real nice, but it would be rude to hang up on my mother. Sasuke shrugs and returns his attention to whatever he's doing.

"Yes," I respond when Tsunade asks if I understand everything she has just screamed. I don't care if Tsunade does not approve. I'm still going to marry the bastard, even if Tsunade says that I would go to hell. She has been saying that for the past two and a half years.

"No, I'm not going to end the engagement."

It's safe to say that the chance of Tsunade attending the wedding is extremely slim. She would only attend just to speak up when the man saying the vows (I honestly don't know what he is called; I'm used to just saying pastors) announce if there are any objections.

You know what? In some way, this may be a blessing in disguise. I don't even want to think about how the meeting between my parents and Sasuke's parents would turn out.

"Yes, I understand." Man, this woman can talk. She's now discussing how hurt Sakura will be when she finds out what I am marrying someone else. I'm tempted to tell her that she will be madder about the "love of her life" marrying _me_, but it wouldn't end well. "I don't think Sakura would be that mad… she's with Rock Lee."

Sasuke attempts to hide his cringe as soon as I mention Sakura. Poor soul, I'm sure he's still traumatized from her interesting display of affection from two years ago.

"What do you mean you want to meet Sasuke's parents?"

Sasuke stares at me with pure horror- okay, it's not horror because the bastard is still trying to maintain the stoic act, but his eyes are twitching, a clear sign that he does not like what he's hearing.

Neither do I.

Since when does Tsunade want to meet Sasuke's parents? She doesn't even want to deal with Sasuke and he's my fiancé!

Sasuke writes a note that reads, "Absolutely not."

I shrug at him. This is not my idea and I can't help the fact that my mother is crazy. I return my attention to the phone call when Tsunade yells at me for not completely paying attention to her.

"So you're going to fly all the way to New York City to meet the parents of the man you don't want me to marry?" I say, shaking my head and trying to figure out Tsunade's logic- it's not an easy job, I tell you, not an easy job at all. "No, it's not that I don't want to see you, it's just it doesn't make sense- you don't even like taking planes."

Sasuke curses under his breath.

I sigh as Tsunade continues to give me excuses about why she should meet Sasuke's parents. I don't know if this means that she's past the denial stage of the My Son is Marrying Another Man's Stages of Grief or if she is up to something sinister.

"Okay, mom, you can come to New York to visit me, but you're not going to see Sasuke's parents. They are on some random island; not even their sons know where they are." I sigh. "No, mom, I am not lying to you," I look at my watch and say because I really do want to get off the phone. "I'm sorry, mom. I have to get off the phone. The battery is about to die. Good bye. Yes, I promise that I will call you tomorrow."

It's the oldest trick in the book, and there is a significant chance that Tsuande does not believe me, but I will deal with that later.

"Thank God, that's over."

"That ended well."

"Oh, shut up."

I cross my arms and lean back on the couch, pouting. So, Tsunade is going to come to New York next week. I should be happy, I really should. I haven't seen her in a couple of months and I do, to an extent, miss her. But she's not very fond of Sasuke and the bastard feels the same.

I will also deal with that later.

"Sasuke, about the-"

What the hell is that noise?

Oh, it's the door.

But why is it shaking?

Sasuke and I glance at each then at the door as its knob turns.

Then out of nowhere, Karin bursts into the penthouse. She does not notice the glare coming from her boss, directed at me. Look, I'm sorry. I may or may not have forgotten about locking the door. It's not my fault I have horrible memory.

Isn't she supposed to be home now?

Sasuke stands up. "What makes you think barging into my place without any warning is okay?'

Karin glances back at the door, as if it's the door's fault, and apologetically smiles. "About that, I'm so sorry. That was not supposed to happen. I tripped over the rug and yeah- the question really should be why your door is open?'

Sasuke turns to glare at me.

I attempt to glare at him back; it doesn't work out too well.

"I thought it was locked…" I responded sheepishly. I am never to going to hear the end of it from the bastard, who should really be mad at this secretary."

"You're still not giving me a reason why you're here."

Karin straightens out her skirt and walks further into the penthouse. "Well, as your secretary, it is my job to relay any important any information I receive to you.

Sasuke's not impressed.

Karin chooses another route. She claps her hands and says in an excited voice. "I have the greatest news!"

I gulp, not knowing if I should be grateful of this new development. See, Karin is like Ino in more ways than I would like; she tends to believe that everything she does is for the benefit of others, even if in reality, it is the worst thing that she could have ever done.

Sasuke pays her no mind.

"That's great," I blurt out because it's quite obvious that the bastard doesn't give a damn about what's going on. I don't know why. Getting a wedding planner was his idea. "Who is it?"

Karin smiles and sits down on the couch. "His name is Sai- he may be a bit unconventional in his work, but he knows what he's doing."

"Define unconventional."

I can already tell that Sasuke is not feeling the whole wedding planner thing.

"He just does things a little different than other planners," Karin replies, sounding a bit suspicious. She's not telling us the whole truth. "But he's one of the best in the business and has a knack for doing gay weddings. He is so excited to work with us."

_Us_?

This will not end well. I can already picture the insanity that will happen. And this is why I wanted to get married in the justice of the peace.

Speaking of that…

"What does he say about Atlantic City?"

"You and that damn city…" Sasuke mumbles, ignoring my glare then asks Karin in an annoyed voice. "We're not getting married on a beach."

Karin shakes her head.

I throw my hands up, admittedly too dramatically, but honestly, has the bastard not listen to me for the fast few days? I haven't said anything about a beach. "Of course we're not getting married on the beach. I know much you hate the sun and the sand any pretty much anything that's not tomatoes or me," I flash him a wide smile only to receive a snort from Sasuke.

He knows I'm right. He just won't admit it.

You want to know how I know? Because he completely drops the topic and turns his attention to his secretary. "It is necessary that we do this now?"

He has a point. It's like ten at night, she was supposed to be gone at seven and now, she's in my place discussing wedding plans? Doesn't she have a boyfriend to bother? I could've sworn she had mentioned something about a date.

"Of course it is necessary; this is the wedding of the decade!"

This is exactly why I, and myself alone, should deal with the wedding plans. I blame Sasuke for this mess. If he just listened to me...

The phone rings when I am about to give Karin a piece of my mind about the "wedding of the decade." Sasuke picks the phone up and smirks when I groan as he gives

me the phone. This is going to be a long night. I already know that everyone in my hometown is going to call and demand an explanation.

"Who is it?" I mouth to Sasuke who only shrugs in reply. Well, that's useless. I stick my tongue out at him, causing Karin to giggle and him to roll his eyes and call me an idiot. I hold the phone to my ear, praying that I won't have to endure yet about another lecture.

"Hello, this is Naruto."

Thank the Lord, it's only my sister, Megumi. She may not be a hundred percent accepting of many of my life choices, but she doesn't berate me about it every time she calls. It's nice to hear her voice; I have to admit, I miss her and her antics and her crazy kids.

Which reminds, I do need to visit Utah sometime soon, just to assure everyone that I am still alive.

"Hey, Megumi. I'm guessing you called because you heard the news."

Of course she has. According to her, now everyone knows.

"Yes, mom called and gave me a lecture about how I'm going to hell. But it's okay, I'm still going through with the wedding."

I hope Sasuke doesn't think I don't see him looking at me expectantly.

Megumi squeals in reply. Apparently, she's a lot more excited about the wedding than I would have expected and to top it off, she offers to plan the wedding.

What is up with the women in my life and their love for planning weddings? I'm tired of talking about wedding plans and we don't even know what we're doing yet.

"It's okay, Megumi. There's no need to come to New York to plan the wedding. I have that under control; I think."

Karin raises an eyebrow then begins to talk to my fiancé about Sai. I'm not able to catch everything, because of Megumi, but apparently our new but unwanted wedding planner is kind of like the bastard.

Well, that's just terrific. Dealing with one Sasuke is enough.

Anyway, Megumi continues to talk about how excited she is, how much she loves weddings and if I have started any wedding plans, then says that of course I haven't because I'm me. I don't understand, why does everyone think I am going to leave the plans for the last minute? I already have everything set; it's the bastard's fault for not agreeing with my epic plans.

And my plan is ama-

I nearly drop the phone when Megumi offers the most horrible suggestion in the universe. I nearly shout on the phone, "Are you crazy? We can't have the wedding in Utah."

Of course Karin has the amazing ability to listen to two conversations at the same time and instantly becomes interested in my conversation as soon as I say "Utah."

"Wait a minute-" Karin says, rubbing her hands together. Oh no, she's definitely up to something. "That may not be a bad idea."

Sasuke glares at me for no reason.

"Hold up, Megumi," I say before putting my over the phone and stare at Karin like she's going crazy. "You cannot be serious."

Sasuke gives Karin a pointed look.

"Why not? It's different and romantic," Karin continues, shrugging as Sasuke and I look at her as if she has officially lost her mind. "Oh come on, it's totally romantic. It's the state where you two first met."

I wouldn't call that romantic…

"That's a very bad idea!"

Sasuke finally puts his papers down. "Karin, you're fired."

Karin, as usual, pays her boss, or former boss, no mind. She takes Sasuke's notepad and starts to write it in. "Well since I'm no longer your secretary I can work full time on your wedding in Utah."

I give Sasuke a pleading look.

Sasuke rolls his eyes; he must have read my mind and says, "That is quite okay, you're my secretary again, just as long as you leave the wedding planning to whatever his name is."

"Sai."

"I agree," I comments which is really odd because I tend not to agree with Sasuke. "You should leave all the wedding plans to the wedding planner. Isn't that his job?"

"Well, Sai has requested that we play an active role in the wedding planning and since you two don't know a damn thing about weddings, I will the one working with Sai. Is that okay, Mr. Uchiha?'

Sasuke does not reply.

Oh ,what the hell? Sasuke and I are busy people and chances are, Ino and Karin will find some way to make things go their way anyway, so I don't see any point worrying about the wedding- though I will continue to fight for Atlantic City because there is no way in Hell I'm getting married in Utah.

"Hold up, I'm pretty sure same-sex marriage is not legal in Utah."

Sasuke lets out a sigh in relief.

Unfortunately, Karin does not let that information bring her down. She frowns from a it then offers another plan, "And it's not legal yet in New Jersey," she smiles at my look of disappointment. "So we'll get the marriage certificate in this city. Spend some time in Atlantic City just to shut Naruto up-"

"Hey!"

Karin brushes off my outburst. "And then have a huge reception in Utah."

"We're not going to Utah."

"In all honesty, I rather have the reception on the damn cruise than go back to Utah." I narrow my eyes at Karin, realizing that she is most likely not dealing with Sai by herself. "Is Ino involved in this in any way?" I ask, because I need to know this now so in the future when things get crazy, which will happen, I will have someone to blame besides Karin; that will be the bastard's job.

"Of course," Karin says, not seeing the problem. "She has been the most wonderful person to work with. She's the one who suggested Sai."

That's just terrific.

Karin claps, also not seeing me look at her with horror. "Oh, I have scheduled an appointment with Sai tomorrow morning, when you're not busy. And before you throw a fit, I made sure that you were free. It's going to be a quick introduction meeting. I mean, I'm sure you would want to meet the man who is planning your wedding."

Sasuke glances at me and sighs. "There is no way we can get married online, is there?"

"If you just agreed with me about Atlantic City, you wouldn't have to worry about any of this."

Sasuke rolls his eyes.

"Oh come on, you two. Cheer up. This is your wedding, we're talking about. You cannot act so depressed when we're planning your wedding. Your wedding day will the most amazing day of your lives. I swear to the gods, it will be. I'll make sure of it."

Sasuke glares at me, once again, for no reason. As if it is my fault that he has allowed his crazy secretary to find us a wedding planner. "That's what scares me."

**This is more of a filler chapter than anything. The drama will begin next chapter with more characters. Please by all means, tell me what you think.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: I apologize for not updating in almost two months. This semester and work has been a bitch, and I have been so overwhelmed with papers that I couldn't even think about fanfiction. So as an "I'm sorry" gift, I give you a long chapter- well, the longest chapter thus far.**

**CHAPTER FIVE**

"Ino, for the last time, Sai cannot talk with me right now. And do you mind calling me back later? I'm at work and my boss will kill me if he catches me once again on the phone discussing wedding plans instead of writing articles."

I have to say, talking on the phone while typing is not an easy task to achieve. The fact that my phone hasn't fallen from my shoulder yet is nothing short of amazing- damn, my balancing skills is something else.

Anyway, I have come to the realization that Ino loves to call me at the wrong times. She knows my work and life schedule, even more than I do, which come to think of it, is pretty sad. She knows how anal my boss is about to talking on the phone with people who are not involved in the newspaper business. So why, for the love of God, she does she insist on calling me now?

The only reason why I had even bothered to pick up the phone was because I thought Ino was calling me about an emergency. She was only blowing up my phone for twenty minutes straight. If I had known that she wanted to talk about wedding planners and such, I would have never picked up the phone in the first place.

"I know meeting Sai is important, but so is my job." I don't understand why Sai insists on meeting up right at this time. I have given him my schedule, five times, mind you. He knows I don't get off from work until five, if I'm lucky. He said it was perfectly fine to meet up later tonight. "Why can't he just talk to Sasuke?" I glance up at the clock on the wall besides me . "He should be on break now."

I type two more sentences while Ino explains to me how it is crucial that Sai meets Sasuke and me at the same time, and there is a large possibility that Sasuke, who has a low tolerance for people he has ever met, may fire Sai before the wedding planning even starts.

Okay, she does present a good point.

"Ino, just tell him that we will meet at our favorite diner at eight. Sasuke will be off from work already."

"Boss Uzumaki!"

"_Konohamaru, how many times do I have to tell you not to scream across the office?"_

"I'm sorry, grandpa! It won't happen again!"

I divert my attention from my article writing and Ino's conversation and look over just to see Konohamaru giving a salute to his grandfather, the editor in chief (who is shaking his head and muttering something that appears pretty propane before return to his private office) and rushing towards me while pushing some people aside _while_ to balance a bowl of ramen.

Isn't he supposed to be in Temari's office?

I acknowledge him with a nod and continue to listen to Ino complain about how I am such a horrible person because I have failed to decide who I want to me in my wedding party. I don't understand why I need a wedding party; I am not having a full scale wedding. "Ino, all we need is two witnesses to make the marriage valid. Why do we need to have twenty people?" I ask, writing a reminder to make sure that I call every single place in this city that is willing to conduct a civil marriage.

Konohamaru is one of the interns here. He is the grandson of the editor-in-chief and thinks that because of this, he can do anything he wants and get away with it. His job is to handle the phones and connect he callers with an employee. Of course, he can't handle that simple job because he can't sit down for a minute. Therefore, he has employed, yes _employed_, one of the other interns, Udon to answer the calls.

(He is paying Udon twenty bucks a day and a couple for floor seats at the next basketball game for him and his girlfriend. How is he capable of affording that while being a poor college student- his words- I don't think I want to know.)

Konohamaru spends most of his time following me around and mimicking practically every move I make. He calls me boss and says that I am one of the few people at work who isn't "lame." I guess I should be grateful that I have someone who looks up to me. Plus, I don't mind his presence. He is basically my personal assistant.

I don't notice Konohamaru standing next to me until he pats my shoulders, rather hard and shouts, "Hey boss!"

And people say that I am loud.

"Hey, Konohamaru," I quietly reply, nodding as Ino continues to lecture me aout why every wedding needs a wedding party. She seems to be quite serious about this thing. "Ino, for the last time, we only need _two_ people. And where are we going to find twenty people for the wedding party? Everyone I know is back in Utah, with the exception of Kiba, Hinata and Megumi and possibly Iruka, doesn't want me to get married in the first place. Chouji is still in France, and you couldn't pay me enough money to invite Sakura and Lee."

Contrary to what Karin and Ino believe, I do not harbor any bitter feelings towards Sakura and Lee. I'm over that whole debacle, and I'm glad that they are starting a new life together in the suburbs. But people tend not to invite their ex-girlfriend and the man she cheated on them with to their wedding. That screams drama and awkwardness.

And not to mention Sasuke will murder me because Sakura may still have a bit of a… hm, what should I call it… a crush on him.

Anyway, Konohamaru peers over my shoulder and gasps, holding his cheeks together which kind of makes him look like a fish. "You're getting _married_?" He asks, quite astonished. At least he's not yelling out the question like he normally would. Doing so would only result in unwanted attention from my employees. "Like married, married?"

I groan and toss the note inside one of my desk drawers. See, this is why being surrounded by interns never ends well. "Konohamaru, this is not the time. Do you mind leaving? I do have an article to finish, and aren't you supposed to be handling the phone calls in Temari's office?"

"Oh, Udon's doing that for me," he replies, not moving from his spot. He only stares at me with wide eyes, as if I have magically grown three heads- no, too cliché, grown ten yes- no, that's lame, whatever. As soon as he gets out of his shocked trance, he shakes his head, gives me a lopsided grin and asks, "So, who's the lucky lady? Is she hot?"

"Konoha-"

Konohamaru grabs a chair from Shino's desk and sits next to mine. "Oh, you're blushing. I bet she's hot, isn't she, boss?"

I should tell him to get out of my sight before I tell the editor-in-chief that his grandson is once again, preventing his writers for the newspaper from doing their jobs, but I know Konohamaru, very well unfortunately. He's like me in so many ways- he's not going to stop asking until I give him a proper answer.

I sigh as I save my article. I won't be able to write anything else, not while he's here. I open my mouth to say- hold up, Konohamaru said, "lucky girl."

Ah, that's nice. He thinks I'm marrying a woman.

"Heh, heh, about that," I start off. I guess I can tell him. I mean, he's Konohamaru I guess I can sort of trust him. "I'm not marrying a woman," I continue as Konohamaru gives me the most confused look I have ever seen, "I'm marrying a man. Sasuke Uchiha, to be more exact."

Konohamaru freezes for a moment, out of shock or disgust, I don't know. He then gapes at me (now, he really looks like a fish) before nearly jumping out of his chair. "No way!" He shouts, gaining the attention of basically everyone in the room. He flashes our co-editor-in-chief, Temari who is giving him a look of disapproval, a smile. He quickly sits back down and scoots his chair closer. "No way," he says again, this time in a lower voice.

I knew I should have kept my mouth shut.

"Are you seri-? Since when did you-? How the hell did you manage to convince the _Sasuke Uchiha_ to spend the rest of your life with _you_? Isn't he asexual?"

Why does everyone keep saying that? Yes, it takes a lot for him to look like he is remotely interested in someone, trust me I know. But that doesn't mean he's asexual; he's just emotionally constipated and incapable of expressing his feelings to the fullest extent. That's all.

And… I think I actually like it that way. There is only so much lovey-dovey… thing a person can handle.

"I didn't convince him anything," I answer, rubbing my temples. Well, at least it seems that he's more shocked about me marrying Sasuke than me marrying a guy in general. It's a step in the right direction. "And he's not asexual."

"So are you saying that Sasuke _asked_ you to marry him? Like he actually went down on one knee and asked, 'Will you marry me?'"

I give Konohamaru an annoyed look as Ino continues to talk to me, this time about venues. Doesn't she having a job? I could have sworn she has about ten patients today. "Ino, if I have to have a full-fledged wedding, which I will fight to make sure that doesn't happen, we are going to have it at the bastard's hotel. His brother, Itachi, owns the damn place; I am sure we can book the grand ballroom for free."

Konohamaru leans back in his seat, still staring at me with shock. "I can't believe you're marrying one of the heirs to a hotel chain…"

"I know, it's quite unbelievable," I mumble before answering Ino's question about the ballroom. "Ino, this is the same place the church seminar used a couple of years ago. Trust me, it's big enough. We are not inviting all of Manhattan."

"How long have you and Uchiha been together?"

"About two and a half years." I roll my eyes as Ino suggests that I invite at least two hundred people to the wedding. Hah! That's a joke. "Ino, how on earth did we get from two people to two hundred?"

"Wow…" Konohmaaru says under his breath. "How the hell did you manage to score an heir to a hotel chain?"

"It's a long complicated story that I rather not talk about now."

Of course he's not going to let the topic go.

"Did you use a match maker? Like the show on Bravo- you know, the one with the lady who match makes people to millionaires?"

"No, I did not use a match maker."

"Then what did you-?"

"We met a night club."

Why am I admitting this to him?

"What? How is that possible? Udon told me that it's impossible to meet your future spouse in a club…" Konohamaru curses. "He lied to me!"

"He's not entirely wrong…" I look at him. "You don't… _mind_?"

This is a very important question you know, I have been receiving a lot of "yes, I do mind," "are you crazy?" from my family members.

"Mind about what? Marrying a dude? Nah boss, I'm happy for you. I really am, and I have developed a newfound respect for you: the fact that you have been dealing with Uchiha for the past two years, without trying to kill yourself is nothing short of incredible."

I am debating if this is a good thing or not. And I should convince Konohamaru that the bastard is not as much of an asshole as everyone thinks. Yeah sure, he has his moments- a lot of moments, but if he was a complete asshole, I wouldn't be marrying him.

"Uh… thanks?"

"Boss, I'm serious. And I better be invited to the wedding." He looks at my computer screen and points to it. "Hey, it looks like you got a new email. From Megumi? Oh hey, isn't that your sister? Tell her I said hi and that I still think she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."

Yeah, so apparently Konohamaru has a crush on Megumi.

I just don't know what to believe anymore.

"You do know she's married and has six children… and is more than ten years older than you."

"Boss, my friend, age is only but a number, and plus I bet she will age like fine wine, and-"

"Konohamaru, you are not talking to me about how hot you think my sister is," I said, grumbling as I open the email. I wonder what she wants. She's not the type to email people. She, like Ino, prefers to talk to people to death on the phone.

I stare at the email in complete shock. This has to be a prank. There is no way that Megumi could succeed in planning "family- town reunion" in New York to "celebrate Naruto's engagement." She wouldn't be that cruel, right? And why does he have to insist that my _entire_ family should meet the bastard's family. I just don't understand. I thought only Tsunade wanted to meet Sasuke.

Konohamaru and I glance at each other then back at the computer screen and gulp in unison.

"Do you think this is a wise idea?" Konohamaru asks with caution in his voice. He knows about my family and their antics. "I mean, I don't even think this city is ready for this craziness."

Konohamaru, thanks to my numerous ranting sessions with him, is perfectly aware how crazy my family and my hometown is.

"You think?" I close the email. "This can't happen. The bastard, fiancé or not, is going to give up twenty rooms for my town and family for free."

Just because Sasuke didn't charge Ino, her niece, Chouji and me for our rooms two years ago, no more than that, doesn't mean he will be that generous now.

And it was only one room, not _twenty_.

"But- look at the bright side, boss. I actually get the meet Megumi in person. Do you think she will be interested?"

"Can you stop fantasizing about my sister, and help me find a way to make this not happen?"

"Sorry, boss, couldn't help myself," Konohmamaru ponders for a moment. Hey, I think he may be able to come up with something. "Why don't you just tell them no?" He suggests, handing me the bowl of ramen that's supposed to be for him. He can be annoying and distracting, but he's the only one at this job who can truly understand my need for ramen as a stress reliever.

"That's the best you got?" I sigh. "And even if I say no, no one is going to listen to me."

"I know this sounds like a bad idea, and I can understand why you're not happy about this, but try to think positive," Konohamaru says, nodding. "Think of it as a massive cross country engagement party."

"Engagement party? They don't even want me to get married."

Konohamaru thinks for a moment then says, "True, but it's not like they are completely against you marrying Sasuke Uchiha. If they were, they wouldn't want to have anything to do with you."

I narrow my eyes at him.

Okay, he may have a point.

"Wait, boss, you're going to have a wedding reception, right?I can be the DJ!" Konohamaru suggests out of the blue, ignoring my look of pure confusion. Since when did he DJ? "I'm a beast at playing music at events. Just ask my mother. I DJ'd for her best friend's daughter's bachelorette party. I got mad skills."

I blink. Bachelorette party? They have DJs at bachelorette parties? Oh, I'm sure the bastard would love that. "Uh… thanks for the offer, but-"

"You don't even need pay me a lot. Just put in a good word for my granddad. Oh, and I also need a recommendation for grad school."

"You're a freshman in college; you don't need that sort of recommendation for a long time."

"Fine, pay me only two hundred and a few piece of cake." Konohamaru brushes my comment off because he knows I'm right. "Look, all I'm saying is that I got you. Just give me a playlist, a date and a place and I'll be there. Oh, and I can get you a bartender. Udon has a lot of experience."

"What experience? Udon is only nineteen."

Konohamaru sputters. "Oh, did I say that out loud?" He rises from his seat and flashes me a guilty smile. "Uh, so forget everything I have just said- and uh, congratulations to your engagements, and uh- I need to go right now. See you later, boss!"

And with that he rushes to the other side of the office at top speed.

I shake my head and let out a chuckle as I continue to listen to Ino talk to me as if she is the real wedding planner and Sai is not.

* * *

So I'm late.

Of course I'm late. I'm always late when I have to get to a place on time.

I had promised myself that I would arrive on time this time. I even planned to arrive earlier, but no, I had to finish this damn newspaper article and hand it in to the copy editor, Shino, before I could even think about leaving the office.

This is so embarrassing. I'm going to be late to a session about planning my own wedding.

Sasuke is going to kill me.

I nearly run into the front door of the dinner and three people as I rush in. I stop immediately when I see a familiar figure. Sasuke is standing near the door with his hands crossed, scowling at anyone who dares look his way. He gives me a sharp look as I run through the first set of doors, huffing as if I have just ran a marathon. "You are late," is of course is the first thing he says to me, narrowing his eyes before looking at his watch. "Eleven minutes late, to be more exact."

I roll my eyes ad straighten my clothes that must have wrinkled up during my seven-block long run to the diner. "I know that," I mumble. "I couldn't leave work until I finished my story."

The bastard scoffs. "Is this the same sorry I had told you to start earlier so you would not have to procrastination?"

"Shut up, and what? No hello? Some fiancé you are."

"Hello." Sasuke rolls his eyes and walks through another set of doors. "Come on, our wedding planner is waiting for us."

"Why aren't you sitting with him now instead of waiting out here? This diner is only so big, I could've found you guys."

"I was, but he was annoying me after five minutes with his evasive questions."

We do not say anything else as we walk through the diner. I cannot believe Sasuke couldn't last more than five minutes with Sai- no, wait I can. Sasuke and patience never did get along. Sasuke leads me to the table- oh, so that must Sai.

Karin has claimed that Sai physically resembled Sasuke, but don't see it. Yeah, they have the same color skin and hair, but that's as far as the resemblance goes. And contrary to what Karin has said, Sauske's eyes are far darker and nicer than Sai's. And he's skinnier, much skinner than Sasuke.

"Naruto's here," Sasuke announces, pulling out a seat for me, which is very sweet of him. Hey, maybe Io's right. Maybe I did make the bastard sort of soft. Anyway, I quietly thank him as I sit down and speak up as soon as the bastard sits down, "Hello, my name is Naruto."

Sai glances at Sasuke then at me and then smirks widely. "So, you must be _Naruto_," he slowly says, raising an eyebrow. Isn't that what I just said? I look at him puzzled when he leans back in his chair, smirking even more if that's possible. "I have heard _so much_ about you."

I take a quick glimpse at Sasuke who is giving Sai a mean look. How did Sai hear so much about? I know he didn't hear it from Sasuke- oh, he must have heard it from Ino and/or Karin; those two love to talk.

"Really?" I reply, playing along with whatever is going on and ignoring Sasuke's snort. "I hope you've heard good things."

"Of course. I must say, Naruto," Sai says, leaning in and invading my personal space across the table, "You have stunning eyes. They are the clearest blue eyes I have ever seen. They bring out your facial features, in a very good way. Simply beautiful."

Wha…?

Is he flirting with me?

The look on the bastard's face is priceless. I know all he wants to do is snap at him and perhaps, maim him, but he won't do so. It wouldn't be very "Uchiha" of him, whatever that means.

"Uh…" I respond with something that's not really a response, rubbing the back of my neck and trying not to blush out of embarrassment. "Thanks, I guess?"

I'm ignoring Sasuke's glare.

"But don't you think we should be only talking about the wedding, and not my eyes?"

"Ah yes, of course." Sai sits up and says, "I apologize for not introducing myself to you. My name is Sai, and I will be your wedding planner for your wedding." He takes out a large stuffed folder and hands it to me and takes out a large diner. "This folder contains all my credentials. I specialize in planning celebrity wedding in the tri-state area." He claps his hands. "I have to say I am quite excited about this wedding process. This will be my first gay wedding."

I open the folder and begin scanning through the contents. Damn, Karin wasn't kidding. Sai must have planned at least fifty weddings. Okay, so he knows what he's doing. That's good.

I can feel Sai's gaze on me as I continue skimming at his previous weddings. I stop when he clears his throat and says, "I have received specific instructions from both Karin and Ino," Sai announces taking out a large binder. "They want to make sure that your wedding is the grandest wedding this city has ever seen." He pauses at our rather horrified faces. "That means we are going to have a wedding and a reception and they the only reason why we will be at city hall is to pick up your marriage certificates. You can have the honeymoon in Atlantic City, if you want; I honestly don't care."

"Fine," Sasuke replies crossing his arms.

Damn, it looks like I have no choice but to have this godforsaken wedding. This is going to be the death of me, I just know it.

And for this, the bastard better give me a slamming honeymoon. We will be going to Atlantic City then we're going to go to France to visit Chouji and his new girlfriend and then-

"Okay, we'll this da- um, this wedding, but we are going to make the final decisions on everything."

"I am perfectly okay with that," Sai says, nodding in agreement. "It makes my job significantly easier. Have you two started on the wedding plans?"

Sasuke gives me a pointed look. He's mocking me I just know it, but I don't care. He's just mad that I jumpstarted on the wedding plans (that are currently down the toilet) before he did. "Well, I initially though it would be a good idea to married at city hall and have my honeymoon in Atlantic City, but apparently, it's too 'ridiculous' for everyone."

Sai looks at me as if I have just offended him.

Sasuke of course, snorts and responds with, "It's not ridiculous; it's simply stupid."

"Shut up, bastard. I don't need your comments."

"We will be having a wedding and a reception, preferably in this city," Sasuke begins in that voice he only uses when he's at work. "And I would like to have a low profile wedding. I do not need every single celebrity magazine and tabloid to write a story about it."

"Very interesting," Sai says rubbing his chin. He gives me a wink (which results in Sasuke growling) before continuing, "It looks like we have a lot of work to do. But before we get to the wedding planning, I want to get to know you two a little better. You know, so I can get a _feel_ for what I'm about to deal with."

The bastard and I exchange glances. I don't think I like where this is heading.

"Don't worry. This is not an interrogation session. And you don't have to give me your whole life story."

I give the bastard another glance and answer because I know Sasuke isn't going to deliver anything more than an one or two worded response. "Uh… well, my name is Naruto Uzumaki. I am originally from Utah and I am a journalist."

Sai looks unimpressed. I don't know why. I did what he asked. "That's not telling me anything. Tell me about yourself, what you like, what you don't like." He smirks at Sasuke who only glares at him in return. "Or what's your _type_."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

Sai laughs and brushes off the bastard's comments, "Let's start with something very basic. How long have you been together?"

"I don't see how that is any of your business."

"Bastard, it's a simple, harmless question. You're acting like he's asking you for your social security number," I turn my attention back to Sai. "We've been together for over two years."

"Ah, very interesting," Sai mumbles as he write something in his notepad. "Who popped the question?"

"The bas- Sasuke," I reply, as usual ignoring Sasuke's dirty look. I don't get it, he was the one who asked me to marry him, and he seriously needs to stop scowling every other second. I know he doesn't want to be here, heck, I don't want to be here either, but that does not mean he needs to act like a major sourpuss.

"Oh wow. I didn't think Mr. Uchiha was capable of doing something … romantic," the wedding planner says smugly. "How did you propose, Mr. Uchiha?"

I won't even explain the dirty look Sasuke gave Sai.

So, it looks like I will be the only one answering Sai's questions.

"He proposed over breakfast, right before we were going to go to work."

"How did he ask?"

"I wouldn't say that he asked, it was more like a suggestion and then he tossed the paper at me to prove his point. The cover story was about New York legalizing same sex marriage."

Damn it, I should have made up a story.

Saii looks at Sasuke and me as if he doesn't have anything to say in response. He blinks a few times, clears his throat and blinks again. "That's it?" His eyes widen after I give him a nod. "That has got to be the most pathetic wedding proposal I have ever heard. And I have heard some bad ones."

"It was not as bad as it sounds… I liked it." I mumble, frowning a bit. Now that is just not nice. Sai doesn't know Sasuke. He doesn't know that it actually took a lot for him to even think about marriage in the first place (yes, the bastard did admit this). To Sasuke, simply asking, well, suggesting marriage is romantic and I am perfectly fine with that.

Oh by the way, if glaring was an Olympic sport, the bastard would have won the gold by a longshot.

"If you say so- I can't- I cannot believe this," Sai says, shaking his head. "I do not believe that you two plan to marry each other. It's not even the proposal. Naruto, you called Mr. Uchiha a bastard and Mr. Uchiha seems a bit cold towards you and has been sending you dirty looks numerous times and it has only been ten minutes."

Excuse me?

Just who does he think he is?

I mean, I call Sasuke a bastard all the time! That's normal and Sasuke is the king of glares. I'm not even affected by them even more, and cold? It's quite apparent that Sai hasn't seen Sasuke when he's cold.

And Sasuke isn't even cold with him now; he's just really annoyed and sort of angry.

"_Excuse me_?" the bastard replies as if he has read my mind. He is currently clenching his fists and is about to pounce on our wedding planner, and not in a good way. I don't think he would actually do that though- oh but wait, Sasuke does have his moments when he does things completely out of character such as having a screaming match with Itachi, or making me breakfast in bed when I am too tired or sick…

Sai, who is either oblivious to the anger emitting from Sasuke or just doesn't care that he is pissing Sasuke off, replies with a laugh, mind you, "I'm sorry, but I cannot picture you two spending the rest of your lives together."

"We, actually Karin, did not hire you to give us your opinion about our soon-to-be marriage lives. You are here to plan our wedding, and only plan our wedding."

"Oh, your fiancé is a bit of a grouch, isn't he?"

Wait a second, Kari did warn me about Sai and his antics. He is well known for enjoying annoying people who knew would be annoyed beyond belief with him.

It's quite apparent that Sai takes pleasure in getting under the bastard's skin. Now once the bastard realizes that threatening the wedding planner with his eyes and scowls only fuels Sai's enjoyment, then maybe he can act like a fully functional human being.

I grab Sasuke's arm and pull him out of the chair, with surprisingly no resistance, before he really punches Sai in the face. Maybe he really wanted to be out of Sai's presence. "I'm sorry," I say, ignoring Sasuke's scowl. "We are going to have a little talk, right outside. Give us five minutes."

"Take all the time you need."

"Thanks," and with that, I drag the bastard outside the diner, leading into the alleyway. We can't talk in front of the diner, people will notice, pictures will be taken and Sasuke will be in an even worse mood.

"What is your problem?"

"I do not have a problem."

"_Sasuke_."

"I had a long day at work…" Sasuke whispers, running both hands through his hair. "And Sai's presence is not helping." He looks at me. "He's a major pain in my ass…"

"But you'd just met him. And I am a major pain in your ass and you still deal with me."

"That's different," He admits, now rubbing his hands together. Oh, I know what that gesture means. He's really annoyed, more than usual.

"Are you upset about Sai criticizing about your proposal?" I ask, taking a step closer to him. I have to admit, he was a little harsh. I receive my answer when Sasuke glares at me while his ears turn bright red. "Oh, bastard, don't let Sai upset you. If I was mad about your unconventional proposal, I wouldn't have said yes."

"If I remember correctly, you didn't say yes. You said okay."

I slightly frown at myself, feeling bad. He's right, I had only said okay. I only assumed that he knew what I met. I did say, "Let's get married" after I said, "Okay." Damn it, I have already messed up and I'm not even married yet.

I don't know what to do or say. Should I apologize? Should I give him this really long, romantic speech about I would have never, ever say no? No, that wouldn't be too productive.

_Damn it!_

"But I did say let's get married, right after, didn't I?" I reason, probably shooting myself in the foot. But really, if I didn't want to spend my life with him (God, that does sound a bit scary) then I wouldn't have created my elaborate Atlantic City wedding plans.

Sasuke doesn't look convinced.

Crap, I think this means I need to apologize.

"Bas- Sasuke," I say, reaching out and holding his face in my palms. He likes when I do that, he just won't admit it. "I'm sorry, I really am. It was really early in the morning and you know how I am at that time. My brain is unable to think correctly. I didn't mean to offend you; I swear to God, I didn't. And yes, I will marry you."

"Even after all this time, the lack of brain cells in your head still astounds me."

There's the bastard I know and love. Well, now I know he's not mad at me anymore.

And because I am so elated that I don't have to deal with an upset, moody and mopey Sasuke for the time being (because trust me, that is never fun), I lean and give him a kiss right the lips.

And wow, he didn't actually push me away. The bastard does not do public display of affection (that one time in the club back in Utah doesn't count. We were pretty drunk when we hooked up in his car that was parked in a crowded parking lot). Hey maybe he's finally loosening up after all.

"Burn in fucking hell, asshole."

"After you."

"Promise me that you will try to cooperate with Sai," I mumble quietly against his lips. "Just try. We only have to deal with him for another thirty minutes tonight."

"I don't like him."

"Yes, I know, but he's the best of the best who is also giving us one hell of a discount."

"And anyway, don't pay Sai any mind. Karin did tell me that he's a bit flirtatious, and crass and an asshole, sort of like you, but less likeable." Sasuke rolls his eyes at that. "Sai is only acting this way because he knows he will get a response out of you. He's just trying to rile you up."

"Why?'

I shrug. "I don't know. Maybe his parents didn't give him enough love when he was a child. Maybe he's bored all the time and the only things that can excite him are planning weddings and pissing people off."

I give him another kiss and smile at the light blush forming on the bastard's cheeks. And he says that he doesn't blush. "So, we are going to go back in the diner and we are going to listen to Sai and answer his questions, yes?"

"Fine."

**I hope you all enjoyed it!**

**Thank you so much for reviewing, favoriting and following this story. It really does bring a smile to my face every time I see a new alert in my email from you guys. Please do not hesitate to tell me what you think, and since I have about half of the next chapter written, I will not take two months to update again.**


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

I have to admit. The wedding planning process isn't going as bad as one would think. Sure, there have been moments where all I want to do is rip my hair out, but considering everything, it's not that horrible.

If I wanted a big wedding, I might have enjoyed myself.

Of course I don't want one, so the wedding planning can be more annoying than anything.

The bastard and I (along with Ino and Karin, unfortunately) have been meeting up with Sai for the past week. And surprisingly, things have been going well. Sai is acting less like an asshole and more like a functional wedding planner. (Apparently, Sai likes to act like an ass with his clients in the beginning so he can weed out who is serious about using his services and who is not. Don't ask. Let's just say that he's weirder than Sasuke.)

The bastard and Sai are getting along. Sort of. I mean, the rate of Sasuke threatening Sai's life per session have decreased significantly (it only happens about three times a session compared for oven twenty). And Sai has made some kind of effort not to aggravate the bastard by shamelessly commenting on my physical feature. Of course he still mentions about my eyes and my butt, but at least it isn't as bad as before.

Anyway, I'm glad that the bastard has agreed to use Sai's services. He maybe annoying, he has a weird obsession with drawing me (I don't even want to get into it), and can be a dick at times, but he knows what he's doing when it comes to weddings. In the end, I guess that's what matters.

The three of us are sitting in one of those fancy cafés that Sasuke and his kind like to drink tea and eat overpriced mini pastries at. The bastard insists that we only meet Sai in public places; he hasn't told me why, but I think it has something to do with the fact that being in public places will deter any urges to plummet Sai if he gets out of line. I'm perfectly fine with the arrangement. Public places mean restaurants and diners which means I get to eat whatever I want and the bastard pays for it (I used to be against him always paying for my tab, but the realize it's not worth fighting him about it. The bastard is stubborn as hell and he won't go down without a fight).

I had wanted to go to our favorite diner, but the bastard was sick and tired of going to "low-class eateries" and decided to meet Sai at some fancy café where only business people and rich people ate at. The place is decent, I suppose. I mean, it has good drinks, but doesn't serve ramen. And not to mention, the prices are insane. There is no way in _hell_ I would pay seven pays for a hot drink.

We are currently discussing venues for the wedding and the reception. Well, Sai and I are discussing venues. The bastard is just sitting there, slowly sipping his tea and occasionally glaring at patrons who recognize him. He has been pretty quiet during I meetings, which in all honestly, makes no sense. I'm the one who didn't want a big wedding and I am doing more planning than him.

I'm not the only who is a bit annoyed with Sasuke's lack of interest. Sai abruptly stops talking to me about ballrooms and stares at the bastard before saying, "Mr. Uchiha- can I call you Sasuke?"

"No."

"Okay, well I am aware that know your creativity is at an all-time low, but you are one half of this marriage. Believe it or not, your input in the wedding plans is just as important as Naruto's. So can you at least give me something resembling an opinion?"

Sasuke response is of course a glare. But Sai, who may be immune to the bastard's infamous look, only smirks in return and points to one of the pictures on the table. "What do you think about this venue?"

Sai and I looked at the bastard for an answer. Of course Sasuke doesn't give an answer right away, because that would make too much sense. He sits up in his seat and clears his throat quite loudly. "I think we should have it in the Uchiha hotel. It saves the hassle."

I was hoping he would say that.

Sai and I grin at each other. We are making some progress.

"Uchiha Hotel it is!"

Sai and I give each other a high five. The bastard of course only rolls his eyes and mumbles something under his breath about us being morons.

Whatever, we are making progress.

"Now that's done," Sai begins. "We can book the grand ballroom. We need to set a date for your wedding as soon as possible for we can reserve a place for the reception. Reasonably speaking, we should consider having the wedding either Memorial Day weekend or the beginning of the summer."

Thank God, we finally have a venue-

Wait, there is a problem. According to hotel policy, the ballroom in Uchiha Hotel has to be booked at least two months in advance. I want to get married in at the latest, by the end of March.

"That's like three months away," I say earning a confused look from Sai and an irritated look from the bastard. Oh, it looks like he's getting restless. "Reserving the grand ballroom is going to be an issue."

"What do you mean?"

"In order to reserve the ballroom for an event, you have to book at least a few months before hand, even earlier if possible."

"That won't be a problem. I run the hotel," Sasuke comments. "I can reserve the ballroom for the day. Like you said, we just need to finalize the date as soon as possible."

I lean towards Sasuke and whispers, "Won't Itachi get mad?"

Because this is something Itachi would definitely get mad about. The last time Sasuke reserved the ballroom without Itachi's knowledge, the bastard was subjected to a very long lecture and never-ending paperwork.

The bastard does not seem to mind. "He'll get over it."

Sai appears to be confused. He clears his throat and asks, "I don't see the big deal. We can book the room tomorrow. I'm sure there shouldn't be a problem.

"Yeah, it wouldn't be a problem if we were getting married in the summer." I blink then glance at the bastard who shakes his head. It seems that Sai thinks we'll be planning this wedding for the next few months. I could've sworn I have told him that this is going to be a quick wedding. "The bas- Sasuke and I plan to get married in the next two weeks."

Sai's jaw early drop as if this is the first time he's heard it. I'm still convinced that it's not, but whatever. "You want to get married in two weeks? Isn't that a bit too soon?"

"No," Sasuke replies.

I don't understand the point on waiting to get married, especially since we are living under the same roof and same basically everything- almost everything, Sasuke needs to get special permission from me to eat my ramen and I have to do to the same with the bastard's tomatoes.

"We're getting married in two weeks. Unless something drastic occurs, we keep up with this plan. We will have the grand ballroom reserved by that time."

Sai sighs, realizing that there is no point arguing with Sasuke about this. He runs his hands through his hair, quickly writes something down then sighs again. "If we are going to plan this wedding in two weeks, I need your full commitment to this process. I'm good at my job but I can't make things happen without your help."

"That's fine."

"We will deal with the venue as soon as it's reserved. Until then, we will focus on the actual wedding as well as what you want the reception to be like. I have found several people who are qualified to married the both of you. We can arrange a meeting with them later this week." He pauses then smiles. "Have you two thought about the entertainment section of your reception?"

Sasuke and I blink at him.

"We should get a wedding singer," Sai suggests. "I know it's pretty old school, but it's always great to have a human jukebox at a wedding reception."

Why would that be-?

"No," Sasuke curtly replies before glaring at me as if it is _my_ fault that we are in this situation. Look, I wasn't the one who wanted Sai in the first place. He was suggested to us by Karin, the bastard's secretary. If the bastard didn't want to deal with Sai, then he should learn how to convince his employees that his business is not their business. "We are getting a respectable band that plays classical music, and only classical music, preferably from the eighteenth and nineteenth century."

Sai and I snort in unison. There is no way in hell, Beethoven and Mozart will be played during my reception. I want to people to enjoy the event, not be bored to death from listening to violins and cellos.

"You can't be serious…" I whisper to the bastard who only rolls his eyes in return. "You want a _classical band_ at our wedding?"

"I believe that's what I have just said."

"Classical music, very interesting…" Sai bites the tip of his pen before writing something down in his notepad. He looks back up at me and then Sasuke. "It seems, Mr. Uchiha, that your lovely fiancé is not very fond of your choice of… music."

"I don't see the problem."

"I can't dance to classical music," I say, pouting a bit. He knows this. I swear he does. And for the record, I have nothing against classical music, especially the epic ones. It has helped me through writing ten-page papers back in college. But at a wedding reception? No, I need something upbeat and preferably with words. "Hey, we don't have to worry about finding someone for music. I've already hired a DJ."

Well, at least not yet. I will give Konohamaru a call tonight and tell him he has a new gig.

Sai and Sasuke stare at me.

"Who?"

"Konohamaru. He's one at the interns at my job, and before you say no, he has some experience and promises to provide his services with a very nice discount."

"No. We are not hiring one of your work interns as a DJ. If you want one, we will get a professional, not some college kid who's only working at your job because his grandfather is the editor-in-chief."

This is why I need to stop telling Sasuke things. I know he's a part of the wedding planning too, but still. All he has down is shut down all of my wonderful ideas; first Atlantic City and now this.

"But he has experience- legit experience _and_ he's cheap! Bastard, Konohamaru is only charging us three hundred dollars and two pieces of wedding cake."

The look from the bastard indicates that he's not going to change his answer anytime soon.

Well, we're just going to have to see about that!

"We can hire a professional DJ," Sai suggests, "I know this guy out in Jersey who DJs for celebrity weddings. Speaking of celebrities, would you consider having an artist perform at the reception. I can have that arranged."

"I will pass on the artist," Sasuke replies, with a surprising long, well longish, sentence. Maybe he's warming up to Sai. "How much does this DJ cost?"

"Oh, only ten thousand."

Only ten thousand. _Only ten thousand_? I don't even have money to put a down payment for a car, and I'm pretty sure buying a decent used car doesn't cost ten thousand damn dollars.

"What?" I exclaim, because there is no way in hell I'm spending that much money on a DJ. "Ten thousand dollars?"

"That's fine."

I looked at the bastard as if he's just lost it. Wait a minute, I think he has _really_ lost his mind. We are not paying ten thousand dollars for a DJ. I don't care what Sai or Sasuke say, it's not happening. "Fine? Do you know much that costs? You can buy a car with that kind of money!"

I shouldn't be surprised that Sasuke is able to understand the problem. He only rolls his eyes and responds in his usual bored voice. "Money is not an issue."

"It is for me!"

"Okay, I see that we will have to deal with the DJ situation at a later time." Sai raises an eyebrow, write some things down in his notepad, clears his throat and says, "So I'm guessing you two haven't discussed the budget."

"There is no budget."

Sai smirks widely at that answer. Oh I'm sure he loves the sound of that. I, on the other hand, do not. We have budget. We haven't discussed it thoroughly because every time I mention it, the bastard distracts with his mouth and hands. _Every single damn time_. It's not fair. My last attempt, which was yesterday morning, resulted in him giving me a mind-blowing blowjob to keep my mouth shut.

Well, to keep me from saying anything coherent.

Ugh.

I know he's been doing this on purpose, but I don't know why he won't talk about how we're paying for our wedding. That's kind of an important part of wedding planning. And considering that now we don't have a budget (but not for long), it's an important part that need to be discussed as soon as possible.

"What do you mean there's no budget?" I ask, trying to understand how the bastard can say something like that. "A wedding has to have a budget; how are we going to pay for these things? If you haven't noticed, I don't have money growing on trees."

"You cannot be-" Sasuke slightly glares at me and simply continues with, "You're an idiot."

"Well, I'm sorry for not wanting to live in thousands of dollars in debt."

I feel like I'm missing something. Sai is looking at me as if he does not understand why I am protesting anything. And the bastard is looking at me as if he's wondering how I can be this dense. Maybe I'm dense, because I don't see the logic of anything that has been said for the past five minutes.

Sasuke looks like he wants to respond, but Sai beats him to the punch. "Have you two decided who will be paying for the wedding?"

"I will be."

"No, you're not," I say, poking the bastard on his arm. I ignore his scowl. "I don't care how rich you are. You're not paying for the whole wedding. I'm going to help with the expenses, and there is nothing you can say or do about it."

"Really?"

"Really."

"We'll see about that."

"I guess we will."

I narrow my eyes at Sasuke.

I know the bastard can pay for our wedding all by himself. The wedding probably won't make a dent in his bank account, that's how rich he is. The man's wealthier than me, by a lot, but I don't want to have to always reply on him to pay for things. Do you know how long it took me to convince him to let me pay for the food and utilities bill? He acted like I was forcing him to give him up his job as the Uchiha Hotel manager.

But I don't care how much money the bastard has, he's not paying for everything. I have a decent paying job. I can at least pay for the catering and other small things.

**To be Continued…**


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

"Boss, I don't understand what the problem is. The man is offering to pay for the _entire_ wedding. You won't have to pay a dime. Why are you protesting this? If I was in your place, I would be all for it."

I know Konohamaru is right, but I just don't feel good about having Sasuke pay for everything. I shouldn't complain; I'm sure there are many people who love to have their wedding paid for in a blink of an eye.

"Look, I know I shouldn't be complaining. I know I should be grateful. But it's not like I'm entirely poor. Sure, I am broke until my next paycheck, but still. I can pay for some things."

"Oh, I think I understand what you're trying to say," Konohamaru says on the phone then pauses. "You think that if you let him pay for everything then he would think that you're just using him for his money…"

"Exactly," I reply, relieved that at least someone understands where I am coming from. The bastard thinks that I am a moron- nothing new. Karin and Ino think I'm being ungrateful, which is not true. And Sai thinks that I should just never talk about the budget ever again. "I don't want to look like a gold digger."

"I'm sure if Sasuke thought you were using him for money, he wouldn't have asked you to marry him."

"I know you're right, but still…"

I don't know how I should feel about having a college kid as my voice of reason.

I look around for the bastard as Konohamaru pleads to me about the DJ job. I don't know why. I had told him yesterday at work that there was nothing to worry about. "Don't worry about it. You have the job. The bastard isn't going to get off that easy." I glance at the clock hanging over one of the lobby staircases. Wow, I am actually early. I should give myself a pat on the back.

"No, Konohamaru, I am not going to hire anyone else. Didn't I just say you have the job?" I wave at the bastard who's just walked out of the elevators. Oh, he looks in like his in a _splendid_ mood. "The bastard is coming. I have to go."

"Is there a reason why we're meeting at Sai during my lunch break?" is the first thing the bastard says when he reaches me. He checks his watch and scowls. "You know I don't like being interrupted during my lunch break. I need my off-time."

"Off- time? Don't pull that crap with me. You were probably in the middle of doing work. I rolled my eyes. I could've sworn I had told the bastard this morning and left a message on his phone about meeting Sai during his break. He'd seemed perfectly fine with the idea earlier. "And anyway, this is the only free time you have today and we can't meet him tonight. Don't you have a benefit dinner to attend?"

Sasuke blinks at me then frown. I guess he has forgotten about that, which is rare because he doesn't forget about _anything_. "Right…"

"You forgot didn't you?"

Sasuke unsurprisingly glares at me and snaps, "Shut up."

That means yes, he forgot. I don't know what this benefit dinner is about, but the bastard hasn't been happy about attending ever since he got the invitation last week. I don't know why he's complaining; he's getting a free dinner, well sort of. I think he has to give a donation, which isn't why he doesn't want to go. He originally wanted to hand in a big check, but then Itachi rained on his parade and said he had to show up in person.

Karin insisted this morning that I went with the bastard tonight as his date. Sasuke instantly shot that thought down because apparently, he didn't want to deal with people and their prying questions. Which I can completely understand, the bastard hates going to these dinners and does everything in his power to sulk in the corner and make sure no one speaks to him.

He really needs to work on his people skills.

I declined the suggestion because going to the dinner meant that I would be wasting precious wedding planning time, which I couldn't afford. And anyway, I don't want to have my face on every tabloid under the sun and get calls from literally everyone I know, from Utah and from work about my relationship with Sasuke.

Although the bastard and I have been together for past two and a half years and are about to get married, they aren't many people who are aware of our relationship. I think life is easier that way. I like the feeling of going outside, taking the subway and walking around New York City without worrying about the paparazzi following me around asking about how I've managed to snag one of the most eligible bachelors in the country.

Ino and Karin have said many times that I should announce it to the world because there is nothing to be ashamed of. This has nothing to with shame and everything to do with the fact that even though the bastard doesn't want to admit it, he's a celebrity.

Sasuke says that it is none of anyone's business who he's with and he will only tell people if there is a purpose behind it. It took him a year to tell his parents about me and the only reason he did that was Itachi and his big mouth told their mother who later told their father.

"My parents will be arriving here tomorrow," Sasuke dispassionately says glancing at his watch and scowling for no reason. I know he's looking out for Sai who isn't supposed to show up for another five minutes. "They will be staying at the master suites in the hotel for about a week- they want to meet with you, over dinner tomorrow night."

"They want to meet _me_?"

"Of course, dumbass, who wouldn't want to meet the man their son is marrying?" He shakes his head. "I thought I told you this a couple of days ago?"

He did. I just thought he was kidding.

I have never met his parents in person. I've talked to Sasuke's mom a few times, but each time was to assure her that her son isn't moping around somewhere and actually interacting with people. Mrs. Uchiha seems really sweet. She doesn't ridicule my love for ramen as much as the bastard does. She's offered many times to invite Sasuke and me to her and her husband's island getaway. As appealing as that sounds, and trust me going to a private island with white sandy beaches and clear blue water sounds _really_ appealing, I don't think the bastard would comply.

I don't know much about Sasuke's dad, only that he talks even less than Sasuke and has given up his position as CEO of Uchiha Hotels because of a mental breakdown. Sasuke doesn't really talk about him.

"Yeah, but I-"

"Moron, they are my parents, not gods. There is nothing you should be worried about."

Of course the bastard thinks that there is nothing to be worried about. They're his parents. He's known them all of his life. He knows how to deal with two of the richest people in the world. I, on the other hand, do not. What if they don't like me? What if they think that I'm some lowly gold digging journalist who only deals with the bastard and his antics for his money?

Though, according to Ino and Karin, there isn't enough money in the world that can convince them to live and date, let alone marry Sasuke and his craziness.

The bastard thinks that not only am I thinking irrationally but making a big deal out of nothing.

"They're staying at our place?"

"No moron, they will be in one of the luxury suites on the tenth floor."

I nod. Well, that's good. I don't have to worry about facing his parents every time in the morning. Oh crap, I forgot to tell the bastard about my family's plan, that I still haven't approved but apparently no one likes to listen to Naruto.

"So, the end of next week…" I trail off as the bastard raises an eyebrow. "My family thinks that they should all meet yours so they're coming to New York City."

"How many?"

"Like fifty…?" I say avoiding Sasuke's gaze. "Or more depending on how many Megumi is going to invite. Her kids are off for a week for break so she's tagging them along too."

"And where are they going to stay?"

"They want to stay here…"

I don't know how. This is a five-star hotel and the only person I know back home who has five-star money is Kakashi.

The bastard scoffs. "Really?" he mumbles something under his breath. "Don't worry about a hotel. They can stay at my parents' summer home up in Bedford. That way, they don't to worry about finding a hotel in such a short time and they can take Metro North down to the city; it will only take an hour. Or they can drive here, their choice."

"Are you serious?" I gape at him. "Your parents won't care?"

"They seldom stay at that house and besides, I think they will be glad that the estate will finally be put into some use. Well, at least my mother will."

We do not say anything else, a rare feat, while we wait for Sai to show up. Five minutes later, Sai walks into the lobby and Sasuke motions us to follow him to one of the lobby offices. I have wanted to go to one of the cafes because I am starving like heck, but Sasuke isn't hearing any of that.

"The grand ballroom is reserved for the Saturday after next," the bastard says as soon as we enter the room. "We won't be able to change the date unless I bribe my brother, which I have no intentions on doing."

Sai gives the bastard a look, sits down then nods. "Okay, we only have two weeks, no thirteen days, to get a photographer, a DJ, a florist, someone who can recite the vows, a caterer, servers and bartenders for the reception, a designer, your tuxedos as well as the outfits for your wedding party. We don't have time for any stalling. We don't have time to think about anything except for the wedding."

I raise my hand. "We already have a DJ."

Sasuke glares at me.

"What?" I shrug. "I'm sorry, bastard, but we, well you, aren't spending ten thousand dollars just on someone who can play songs. Konohamaru can do the same thing for a much cheaper price."

"Hn."

Ha! I win.

"Okay," Sai says writing down in his pad. "We have a DJ, a venue. What about catering? Do you want me to book the caterer I showed you yesterday?"

Sasuke nods. "Yes."

"Good. Oh, also I scheduled a cake tasting this Sunday? Isn't that okay? I know you both won't be available during the week…"

"That's fine."

"Great. Do you know what color schemes you two want?"

Sauske and I blink and glance at each other. Color schemes? We're planning a wedding, not decorating a place. Why do you need color schemes?

Sai sighs and rubs his forehead. "Color schemes, you know, the colors that will be present during the wedding and reception?"

Oh, right.

Sasuke and I glance at each other again, absolutely clueless. As you can see, we haven't talked about colors, though now that I think about it, I would like orange because orange is the most amazing color ever invented.

Sai rolls his eyes. "Naruto, what is your favorite color?"

"Orange."

"Sas- Mr. Uchiha, what is your favorite color?"

"Black and navy blue," Sasuke glares at me realizing what all of this means. "Orange and black cannot be the colors. This is a wedding reception, not a Halloween party."

"So what we're going to have, black and navy blue? It's going to look like a freaking funeral."

"Even though the moron has the mental capacity for a five year, I rather have it look like a funeral than a Halloween party for children."

"Fuck you, bastard!"

Sai shakes his heads and mumbles under his breath about idiotic people. "You know what? We'll deal with the colors at a later time. Sounds good?" He continues after Sasuke and I nod. "What about the guest list?"

"What _about_ the guest list?"

Sai sighs for the umpteenth time, shakes his head also for the umpteenth time and writes something down. "I'm assuming you two haven't thought about that either."

"I only planned to have two extra people at the marriage ceremony," I retort. "I wasn't expecting to invite _over two hundred people_. Of course we haven't thought about that."

Sasuke gives me a look. "Ino and Karin will deal with the guest list."

"Sounds good, but we need to have that list by Sunday so I can tell the caterer," Sai says. "Now regarding the wedding party, that you both have agreed will be present at your wedding. Do you want bridesmaids and groomsmen or all groomsmen?"

"Bridesmaids and groomsmen, we don't need to make it even gayer as it is."

"Seriously, Naruto? You're marrying a man. You can't get any gayer than that."

"Sure, you can," I reply. "Look, I'm sorry, but there is only so much testosterone I can deal with."

Sasuke rolls his eyes.

Sai puts his pen down and gives Sasuke a sympathetic look. "How do you deal with him?"

"You know," Sasuke responds crossing his arms. "I ask myself that question every day."

"Hey!"

It's nice that Sasuke and Sai are getting along, but they do not have to attack me like that. First, they hated each other and now they're teaming up against me. This is just not fair.

"Do you have an idea of who you want in your wedding party?"

Sasuke gives him a blank look which means no, he hasn't thought about that either.

Sai looks at me. "Do you?"

"Well, I think my sister should be the maid of honor because she's my sister. Itachi can be the best man because he's the bast- Sasuke's brother," I ignore the harsh look coming from Sasuke. Whatever, I told him I planned to invite Itachi. I don't have an issue with him. Sure, he's a bit weird and has an odd obsession with purple nail polish and has some sadistic tendencies, but all in all, he's not that bad. "Of course Ino and Karin have to the bridesmaid because they will have my head if they aren't. I think we should have two more bridesmaids from the bas- Sasuke's side.

I must remember not to call Sasuke a bastard in public. This is not an easy feat, I tell you, not an easy feat at all.

I know he has close female cousins so the bas- Sasuke better not say he doesn't have any women in his family besides his mother.

"Why is Itachi included in this?"

I roll my eyes at the bastard, something I have been doing a lot later. "Of course we are going to include Itachi, he's your brother."

"I don't have to invite him."

Sai and I groan.

"How are we going to have a wedding ask your brother's hotel and not invite him? Don't you think he's going to find out? You know your mom is not going to be very happy when she finds out."

"Leave my mother out of this."

I wave the bastard off. I'll argue with him about that later. And unless he gives me a good reason why he doesn't want to invite Itachi besides the fact that he loves to bother him, he's going to be the best ma. "For the groomsmen, we should have Chouji and Obito."

Sasuke elbows me hard. "We are _definitely_ not inviting Obito."

I swear the bastard doesn't want to invite anyone from his family who isn't his parents.

"I don't know what your problem is. I like Obito."

Obito is Sasuke's uncle. One wouldn't believe it at first since he is about the same age as I am, but he is. He's a great guy; he shares my love of video games and pork ramen. He likes getting on the bastard's last nerves, and he's probably the only person in his entire family that is close to being normal.

And that's saying a lot.

"Of course you do. You two are just alike."

I frown at him only because I highly doubt his statement is a compliment. I'm not going to pay the bastard's comments much mind for the rest of this meeting because I know he's going to reject every idea I have. "We'll finalize the wedding party list by the end of the night. I'll email you the list. Is that okay, bas- Sasuke?"

"Hn."

Sai nods as he writes in his notepad. He's been carrying that thing around him everywhere. I wonder what he writes in there, I'm pretty sure it doesn't have everything to do with wedding planning. "What about the flower girl and the ring bearer?"

"Naruto will deal with that," the bastard says before I am able to open my mouth. "He has enough children in his family."

I glance at Sasuke. Oh no, he isn't going to get away with this. He's going to have his family at our wedding whether he likes it or not. "You don't have any girls or boys in your family?"

"Your sister has six kids alone, just choose two of them."

"I know you have a niece. Obito sent me a picture of her at her kindergarten graduation- you know what? Don't worry about it, I'm going to call Rin and ask her.

"They live in Connecticut," the bastard grumbles. "It will not be plausible to have them come all the way down here…"

"They live in _Connecticut_. That's only two hours away and a hell of closer than Utah. We're going to invite Obito and Rin anyway."

"I have an idea," Sai adds. "Why don't we have one kid from Naruto's family and the other from Mr. Uchiha's? Only to be fair."

I lean back and in my seat and smirks. "Sounds good to me. What do you think, Sasuke?"

"Hn."

* * *

It is Saturday morning and thank baby Jesus I do not have go to work today. I have managed to get my story, just a simple editorial piece, to the editors sooner than expected and because of that, I don't have to show my face at work until Monday.

But although I don't have to go to work, I'm not going to have any free time any time soon.

Since the bastard will be working all day for the next week, I am more or less in charge of wedding planning with Sai. This may be a blessing in disguise since the bastard has a tendency to shoot down every single one of my amazing ideas.

Of course I have to verify all of the details with Sasuke before I finalize them with Sai, but I'll deal with that later.

"You know, Naruto," Karin says eating a piece of chicken and downing it down with wine. "For someone who didn't want a wedding you seem very into this."

"Well, if I'm going to be forced to have a damn wedding, I need to make sure everything works out the way it's supposed to be."

Ino nods shoving a spoonful of Nutella in her mouth. "True. So my dear, what are our jobs?"

Ino and Karin are my unofficial wedding planning assistant for the next two weeks and will be joined by Megumi by when she gets to New York. I don't know why they're so eager to help me, it's a wedding, but I have decided to let it go.

Forget everything bad I have said about Ino and Karin. They are my lifesavers. They will single-handedly be the reason why I won't jump off the George Washington bridge due to stress caused by all of the wedding planning.

I owe them big time.

We are currently sitting in Ino's apartment, eating ice cream, nutella, three containers of greasy fried chicken and candy. Ino and Karin are sharing a bottle of wine. They've offered me a glass but I have sworn off alcohol for the rest of my life. The last time I had a drink, I ended up messing around with the second-in-line heir to a hotel chain in the back of a luxury sports car.

Which, now that I think about it, turned out pretty great in the end, but that is beside the point.

Ino has suggested earlier that we try to eat something healthier, but Karin and I quickly declined. We have hardcore wedding planning to do; healthy food isn't going to do it. We need comfort food. We need food that can clog our arteries, for the time being, and increase our blood sugar.

"Ino, you're in charge of the guest list. We need a complete guest list by Wednesday You can invite our folks back in Utah, but only close family and friends- those I care about and won't give me any grief about me marrying another man. The bastard should give you a list of people he wants to invite by tonight. If he doesn't; just tell me and I'll bother him to death. Oh and also invite Obito and Itachi."

Ino salutes to me and smiles. "Got it. What about the invitations?"

"Sai will deal with that. We should have all the invites in the mail by Monday. That's why I need the guest list as soon as possible." I turn my attention to Karin. "Karin, you're in charge of getting the wedding party together. Megumi is the maid of honor. Itachi is the best man. The bridesmaids are you two, Hinata and Sasuke's aunt in law, Rin."

"Oh, I like Rin," Karin adds. She looks at Ino's confused expression. "She's really nice and her daughter is _so_ adorable."

"What about the flower girl and the ring bearer?"

"Maria, Rin's daughter is going to be the flower and one of my nephews is going to be the ring bearer. I just have to talk to Rin and Megumi about that. The groomsmen is going to be Sasuke's body guards, Obito, Kiba and-"

"Oh, I can't believe I forgot to tell you," Ino says as she slaps her forehead. "Chouji left a message on my phone earlier today. He will be able to take a week off from work so he can attend the wedding. Does that mean he can be a groomsman now?"

"When were you planning to tell me this?" I ask not believing that I've just heard. "Okay Karin, Chouji is a groomsman too."

"Do we have the colors that the wedding party will wear?"

Oh damn it, I haven't thought that far!

"Uh…"

"I have a good idea. Each person should wear the colors of the rainbow," Ino suggests ignoring my dirty look and Karin's puzzled expression. She shrugs. "What? I think it's a cute idea."

"Ino, this a wedding, not a gay pride event. You can't just have everyone dressed up as a rainbow. Do you know how tacky that'll look? And you know Sasuke would rather have everyone in bright orange than the colors of the rainbow."

"We're just going to do beige," I decide, rubbing my forehead. I have two articles to write tonight, haven't started any of them (thankfully none of them aren't due until next week, but I need to get a jumpstart before my family arrives) and I have to deal with this wedding stuff by tomorrow morning. My life sucks. "It's simple. It's boring and it shouldn't be a problem."

"Fine," Karin replies. "Beige it is. Do you have anyone to conduct the wedding? That's kind of important."

I slump in my seat. My search for that person has led me nowhere…

"What about Kakashi?" Ino offers. "I hear that he's going to be New York for a few weeks anyway. I'm sure he won't mind doing the vows?"

I blink at her. "He's a freaking televangelist. Televangelists do not do gay weddings."

"He has a point."

Ino rolls her eyes, obviously not seeing the issue with her suggestion. "Yes, he's a televangelist who reads pornographic novels every time you see him. I'm sure conducting a gay marriage isn't really going to change is fortunes in the afterlife."

"And it's going to be a private wedding anyway. No one outside of the wedding guests is going to know," Karin, who for some reason thinks this is a good idea, adds. "And since he knows your family very well, he can offer a discount."

"Naruto, honey, don't worry about a thing. I'll call Kakashi," Ino says pouring another glass of wine which I'm convinced is seriously clouding her judgment. "I'm sure he'll have no issue conducting your wedding."

I look at my assistant, wondering why I'm even friends with them.

"Fine," I say realizing there is not point arguing with them. "Call Kakashi. I doubt he will agree, but call him."

Karin and Ino give each other high-fives.

**To be Continued...**

**Thank you all for your lovely reviews, etc. They all bring smiles to my face.**


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT PART ONE**

Sasuke is a bastard. He can also be an asshole, and sometimes too moody for my liking. He's picky. He's a neat freak about everything. He only wears boring colors and believe that anything in orange is an abomination. He also thinks that eating ramen is not only healthy but should only be eaten by college kids who cannot afford to buy anything else. He doesn't like to interact with many people, refuses to go into restaurants that are not rated four or five stars. He also likes to shoot down most of my ideas by calling them idiotic and also refuses to let me pay for anything for _our_ wedding.

But even with all of the bastard's flaws, and trust me when I say, it's virtually impossible to list each and every one of them, I have agreed to stay by his side for the rest of my life. Now some people may say that I'm crazy, which may be true (but hey, isn't everyone crazy in their own way?) and others may think that the bastard's flaws definitely outweigh the good things.

According to everyone, he is a stoic man who doesn't have much interest in anything. To everyone, Sasuke is a composed man. He doesn't like to show much emotion. He's not a very vocal person or the type of person who openly expresses how much he enjoys thing.

But then again, that's not necessarily true. Does Sasuke express himself like a normal person? Of course not, but he's not entirely unemotional.

Anyway, I deal with the bastard's flaws and issues because I do like spending time with him, even when he's being an ass. And I like when the bastard attempts to act romantic and the moments when he expresses his undeniable love for me, well, indirectly expresses. I've come to learn that with the bastard, one has to see the underlining meaning of everything he says.

But another reason why I tolerate the bastard and his crazy ways is because if there is one thing he's good at, it's using his mouth. And hands. And everything.

"Why's it always so damn hard to take off your pants…" I ask frustrated beyond belief, trying to unbuckle the bastard's pants, which isn't very easy to do when he's right on top of me, slowly making love to my ear with his tongue. Thankfully, he eventually gets the point and raises his hips for better access.

And no, I am not grinning like a fool when I am finally able push the annoying garment past his hips. And even if I am, which I'm not, can one blame me? It's Sasuke's tongue fault.

The bastard stops to give me a smug look and smirks. "Eager, aren't you?"

"Oh, shut up."

The bastard does not reply, instead he focuses all of his attention on my neck, and grinding his hips against mine. And just when things are starting to really heat up, the bastard's blasted phone rings. Nonstop. For about three minutes.

I glare at the phone on the table, wishing it would either shut up or self-destruct.

The bastard sighs against my neck and glances at the ringing phone. He mumbles to himself, debating whether or not he should get up and answer the phone. I hope he doesn't, because I'm really liking this position a lot and I rather not be interrupted from our little make out session by a damn phone.

The bastard lets out a defeated sigh and gets up.

"Are you freaking-?" I shout, sitting up on the bed, "Bastard, don't you dare!"

"I am a manager of this hotel; I can't ignore work calls, especially when during my work hours."

I cross my arms and pout. Okay, he has a point. He's taking an extended lunch break right now because Karin has literally kicked him out of the office so he would have no choice but not to do any paper work. But still. It's just not fair. We haven't been extremely intimate in a while thanks to insane work hours and even more insane wedding planning and of course the _one_ time we get somewhere, someone has to interrupt.

Sasuke picks up the phone and mouths an apology when I give him a dirty look. The bastard owes me, big time. "This better be good," he snaps, watching me intently as I decide that, screw this, I'm too horny not to care that I want to feel the bastard's hands on me again while he's on the phone, and proceed to drag him over me again. The bastard resists at first, but then goes along with it, scowling as whoever on the phone continues to speak to him during a delicate time like this.

He lifts himself up on his elbows, trying to balance a phone on his shoulders while lying down, which in all honestly isn't working too well for him. I offer to put the phone on speaker so he can probably grope me without worrying about holding a phone, but he declines.

He listens to the person over the phone, scowling here and there. He lets out a small sigh when I lean over to out a string of kisses on his neck. I groan when he abrupt moves away and sits back him. He stares at me with a look that's mixed with disbelief and annoyance. "I'll be there in ten. Do not let them out of your sight," he says before hanging up the phone.

I raise an eyebrow as watch him jump off the bed and quickly put on his clothes. Great, this is just terrific. So it seems that our little booty call has to be put on hold for the time being. Honestly, what is my life?

"What the-?"

"Is there a specific reason why your mother and ten other people are in the lobby?"

I blink, not understanding what is going on. Megumi and Tsunade should not be coming to New York City until the Friday before the wedding, that's what we've agreed on. Friday is four days away, why on earth are they _here_?

"No," I answer slowly. "They're not supposed to be here until Friday…"

"Well, it's quite obvious that they did not get that memo," He mumbles putting on his pants and shirt. He looks at me and raises an eyebrow. "Get dressed moron. You're coming with me."

"But why…?"

I am practically naked and I am in a warm, comfortable bed. I don't want to get dressed and deal with Tsunade and company…

"Because if you think I am going to deal with your mother and whoever she is with by myself then you have another thing coming. I have another seven hours to work today; I prefer to spend those hours with a clear mind."

I grumble about how unfair all of this is as I trudge off the bed and put my shirt and pants on. I grumble as I follow the bastard out of our home, through the hallways and into the elevators. Of course all the bastard does is blame me for this entire thing. Like it's my fault that Tsunade has decided to show up five _early._

A part of my hopes this is a horrible prank because I haven't mentally prepared myself for this meeting. I was ready to do everything on Friday, not today.

"Maybe this is all a joke…?" I suggest as we talk out of the elevators and head towards the main receptionist desk. I try to look as presentable as possible, but given that I had literally two minutes to get dressed, I'm sure I look a mess.

"I highly doubt it." He looks at me with amusement. "Fix your clothes. You look like you've just rolled out of bed."

"Gee, I wonder why," I retort, straightening up my shirt and buttoning my pants that I'm realizing are moments away from falling down. I sure no one has caught us. It's pretty embarrassing to do this in the middle of a crowded lobby.

We do not say anything else as we walk through the lobby. Along the way, I pray quite a few times that there is another woman by the name of Tsunade in his hotel, and my mother is back in Utah. My prayers, as usual as it seems, are not answered because the moment I turn the corner to the main foyer, I see Tsunade arguing with the poor receptionist.

I roll my eyes when Sasuke gives me a dirty look before rushing towards to the reception desk to stop my mother's verbal assault. I chase after him, realizing that this will be the first time he will meet Tsunade in person.

My God, I haven't prepared for this!

**To Be Continued…**


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER EIGHT PART TWO**

"My baby!"

My eyes widen when Tsunade ignores the receptionist's comments about the rooms or something and rushes towards me. Before I can say a word, she pulls me into a tight hug.

"My mom," I choke out as she squeezes me tighter. I tell myself that she's only doing this because she hasn't seen me in six months. It doesn't make me feel better. I'm pretty sure my blood circulation is moments away from cutting off. "How are you?"

I glance behind her and my eyes widen even more, if that's possible. Right behind my mom is Megumi, Anko and Kurenai. I cannot believe Tsunade's brought her posse with her to New York. Don't they have jobs? I know Kurenai and Anko do.

"Um, what are you guys doing here?" I ask, trying to get out of my mom's grasp. I hate the fact that for an old woman, Tsunade is so strong. "Not to say that I'm not happy to see you, but I thought you were coming on Friday."

Megumi smiles. "That was the plan, but mom and I have decided to visit you before everyone else comes. We miss you so much, Naruto."

As I continue to get squeezed to death, Sasuke just stands there, leaning on the receptionist desk with a bored look on his face. He makes no attempts to come closer to greet the guests. He's really not good with meeting new people who aren't business associates.

Megumi is the first one to gain enough nerve to approach the bastard. "Oh, I didn't see you there! How are you, Sasuke?"

All of a sudden, everyone's attention shifts from me to the bastard, which I am grateful, because I can finally get my blood circulation back. Tsunade is the first one to ambush the poor bastard, with everyone else surrounding him with wide grins on their faces.

"My name is Tsunade Uzimaki," Tsunade says, grabbing the bastard's hands and shaking them. She disregards the look of annoyance and confusion on the bastard's face. "I am Naruto's mother. It's nice to finally meet you in person.

"Likewise," he responds after my mother lets him go.

The next one, no, next two are Anko and Kurenai. I watch in horror as the two women introduce themselves that bombard the poor bastard with questions. I'm shocked that he hasn't snapped at them about invading his personal space, but I'm sure I'll get an earful later on.

Feeling bad about what the bastard's currently going through, I have decided to get the women's attention. "Where are you four staying?"

Tsunade huffs and glares at the receptionist who widens her arms and backs up against the wall. "Well, right before you are your fiancé came over here, I was trying to get a room here for the four of us. But little miss missy here, wouldn't hear any of it."

I glance at Sasuke who rolls his eyes, mutters something under his breath that I can't catch. But I have a strong feeling what he's saying. It's something I've been telling him all long; my family is crazy and this isn't even most of them.

The receptionist blinks and glances between the bastard and I. _"Fiancé?"_

Sasuke glares at the poor receptionist. I feel so bad for her. I know she didn't come to work ready for this craziness. "If you value your job, no one hears about this. Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-yes, Mr. Uchiha." The receptionist nods then asks, "What should we do about the rooms?"

"Let them book one."

Tsunade thanks Sasuke and asks the receptionist. "What is the rate of the room?'

The receptionist looks down at the computer screen and responds, "The room with two twin beds costs five-hundred a night."

"_Five hundred dollars?"_

I don't know why Tsunade is complaining. I told her that this was a five star hotel. Five hundred dollars a night is actually pretty cheap. There are some rooms that cost more than my paycheck.

Sasuke sighs, glares at me and cuts in during Tsunade's panic attack. "There's a room on the third floor that's now empty. The customers had to leave a week early because of an emergency. Make sure the room is clean by the end of the hour and charge them half."

"See, I told you it was a bad idea to come here five days early. How are we going to pay for this even with the discount?"

"Shut it, Kurenai. I know this. And we're not going to stay in that room for the whole time." Tsunade smiles at the receptionist and hands her a credit card. "We'll take the room for three nights."

"Where are you going to stay for the other two?" I ask confused as hell.

"We'll figure something out."

"Figure something out?" Anko asks, shaking her head. In a matter of a few seconds, she and Kurenai get into an argument with my mom about the hotel reservations. The receptionist looks at me scared, I just wave it off and mouths to her not to worry about it.

Megumi ignores Tsunade and her posse's bickering. "What are you two doing tonight?"

I glance at Sasuke and shrugs. "Nothing, why do you ask?"

Megumi smiles widely. "Sasuke, why won't my family and yours have dinner tonight?" She suggests, ignoring my look of absolute disapproval. "Only so we can finally meet each other."

Sasuke ponders for a moment, also ignoring all of my protest. Doesn't he understand how bad of idea this is? He glances between me and my mom who is chatting with Anko about rich fiancés. "I do not see why not. My parents and brother will be free tonight. I will let them know as soon as possible.'

Megumi smiles. "Great. What time will be suitable?"

"My shift ends at eight, so eight thirty should be fine," the bastard replies, slightly glaring at me as I try mouth to him my protests. "There's a private restaurant on the fifth floor. We won't get interrupted by other… strangers."

"Sounds like a plan," and with that Megumi turns around and tries to stop the argument between the three women.

I take a quick glimpse at the bastard. "I'm so sorry about this."

* * *

"I can't believe you agreed with Megumi," I say for the umpteenth time this hour as I walk around trying to figure out how the hell am I going to get out of this. I have three hours to pull something off. Of course the bastard refuses to help me. He thinks I'm overreacting.

Some supportive fiancé he is.

From a rational standpoint, the dinner does make sense. If my folks and Sasuke's parents have issues with each other we can find out by tonight, and not right before the wedding. And this will be a perfect time for Tsunade to meet Sasuke and his parents in person. Now whether or not this meeting will go over well is up to debate.

But still, I'm not prepared for any of this!

"I still do not understand the problem," the bastard says after I rant about why I don't want to have this dinner. "I am sure that everything will turn out fine. Now stop pacing before I tie you down to a chair."

"Tie me to a chair?" I ask, stopping in front of the bastard. "Wow, bastard I didn't know you were into bondage like that. But don't you think everyone will get a little suspicious if they see rope marks on my wrists?"

"And I still yet to understand what I see in you." Sasuke shakes his head as I continued to pace around the living room. "Moron, sit down. You're making my head hurt."

I pout as I plop down on the coach. "What did your parents say? Did they choose the rational route and decline the invite."

"My father wasn't available when I called, but my mother said they will both be present at dinner."

I slump down the coach. Okay, maybe I am overacting a bit, but I know Tsunade and her posse. They are going to embarrass me. They are going to make Sasuke's parents hate me. I know it.

Sasuke watches me pouting and rolls his eyes again. "There's nothing to worry about."

"What if your parents don't like me?"

"I'm still marrying you either way."

* * *

"Karin, you're coming to the dinner. You have no say in this. I can't do this alone. I'm going to lose it, and if they ask about the wedding plans?"

"Naruto, you know a lot more about the wedding plans than Sasuke," Karin says before finishing her coffee. She's agreed to meet me into the hotel café so I can discuss the recent events. "Anyway, don't you think it will be weird if I'm there? I'm not related to either you or Sasuke. I'm just Sasuke's secretary."

"You're a bridesmaid. You'll be fine, and you've met Sasuke's parents before."

Karin sighs, throwing out her empty cup. She runs her hands through her hair as she walks around the cafe, which is thankfully almost empty. "Won't Sasuke be mad? This dinner seems pretty intimate between in-laws."

"Honestly, I think he'll be glad if you're there."

Karin lets out a defeated sigh. "Fine, I'll go."

I run up to her and give him a bone-crushing hug. I don't think you understand how grateful I am for this. "Karin, I love you. If I ever adopt a newborn girl I will name her after you."

"You better," Karin said after I let her go. "After all of the things I've done for you and Sasuke. What time is the dinner?"

"It's at eight thirty sharp at the private restaurant on the fifth floor."

* * *

It is seven forty-five, forty-five minutes until I endure the worst dinner of my life. Megumi, who is dressing up for the night in my room, thinks that I am taking things to the next level. (Why is everyone telling me this?) I have to admit. I am feeling a bit better about this since Megumi and Karin are both going to be there. They can be the ones that can make sure nothing gets crazy. I can't do this myself because I will be too busy trying to make the bastard's parents not hate him.

"Why is mom agreeing to this marriage?" I ask putting my tie on. The bastard has suggested, more like demanded, that I put on a suit on for the dinner, so I can look like I have some class. I still don't know if he was insulting me, but whatever. "I thought she would come here and talk me out of it."

"Like how she thought she could convince you to dump Sasuke?" Megumi shakes her head before combing out her hair and putting in a neat bun. "I think she's over it. Don't worry, Naru, mom's not going to crash the wedding and embarrass herself. She's promised that she'll behave."

We silently continue to get dressed.

"I can't believe you're getting married," Megumi says. "No, I can't believe Sasuke actually proposed to you."

"I know!" I put on my suit jacket and look in the mirror to make sure I look relatively presentable. I have a feeling that I'm going to get grilled by everyone at dinner, might as well look great during it. "I thought he was joking at first. You know the bastard was a very weird sense of humor. Of course when I said that, he gave me the worst glare I had ever seen. That was when I realized that he was serious."

"You would ask him if he was joking…"

"I'm sorry but I didn't expect him to propose to me right before I headed for work." I turn around. "How do I look?"

"Better than usual," Megumi replies, laughing at my pout and putting on her shoes. "But I suggest you stop being so darn nervous. You're sweating like hell."

"Of course I'm sweating. Do you know _who_ the bastard's parents are?"

* * *

I arrive at the lobby of the private restaurant on time with Megumi following close behind. I have to make an impression. I can't arrive five minutes later like I usually do. It's really weird when I'm punctual. I feel so out of place, which is kind of sad now that I think about it. Oh well, we all have flaws.

My mom and her posse are already here harassing the servers about their drinks. Itachi and the bastard's bodyguards are chatting about a sports game. Of course the bastard is here. He never arrives anywhere late. (Karin and the bodyguards are making bets about if and when the bastard arrives somewhere at least two minutes later. So far, Juugo, who's voted never, is winning.)

I watch Karin as she approaches my mother to introduce herself.

"Hello, it's so nice to meet you," Karin extends her hand. "My name is Karin. I'm Sasuke's secretary and one of the bridesmaids."

Tsuande cautiously shakes Karin's hand. "Nice to meet you as well."

The bastard appears to be engaging in a conversation with his mother before he kisses her on the cheek and leaves. His father is standing there, like a stature, giving everything (besides his wife) and its mother a dirty look.

I walk towards Tsunade when she finishes speaking to Karin. I watch her as she asks one of the servers for a cheese on a stick. "Hi, mom."

Tsunade turns and smiles. "Hello, my dear. How's your day?"

"It's been fine," I blink, slightly confused. I have been preparing myself for a speech from my mom about how wrong it is to another man, and I haven't gotten on yet. this is so weird. "So… you're not mad at me?"

"For what? Oh the wedding…" Tsunade shakes her head and sighs. "I'm not going to lie to you and say that I agree with what you're doing, but there's no point trying to berate you about something you're not going to give up. And he seems like a pleasant fellow."

Pleasant fellow?

Tsunade thinks the bastard is a _pleasant fellow_?

I quickly down my glass of water I've picked up one of the server's tray. This would be a perfect time to have some wine right now.

"Sasuke's more handsome in person," Tsunade comments before eating a piece of cheese. "At least you have good choice."

I can tell that this conversation is going to get more awkward in a second. I clear my throat as I continue to watch the bastard talk to his father now. Man, watching them is like watching two business people, who don't interact with each other much, talking about… business. "Uh… thanks. I think."

"He gets his looks from his father," Tsunade says, raising her eyebrows when Mr. Fugaku takes off his suit jacket and hands it to the butler who quickly takes it away. "Oh _yes,_ he definitely does."

I nearly gag.

Tsunade calls the server again, complaining about how she's thirsty. When the server reaches her she unsurprisingly asks, "Do you serve sake?"

"Of course, we have ten variations. Would you like me to show you the selection?"

Tsunade glances back at me, pleased the server's response. No one can get between her and her love for sake. "Oh yes, if you don't mind."

"Of course," The server bows. "Follow me.

Megumi, who has popped out of nowhere, and I exchange cautious looks as Tsunade leaves with a pep in her step.

Oh Lord.

"Can you do me a favor?" I whisper to Megumi. "Can you make sure mom does get drunk? She can only have three glasses, four at the most."

"Don't worry little bro, I'll make sure mom doesn't embarrass herself or us."

"You're a lifesaver," I say before leaving my sister's side. I plan to go up to Sasuke and save him from the seemingly uncomfortable conversation he's having with his father butthen I remember I have to do some massive damage control. I excuse myself and head to Itachi who is chatting with Suigestu. Itachi ends his onversation when he sees me approaching him.

"Good evening, Naruto."

"Good evening," I glance around to see if Sasuke has come back from the bathroom. Good, he hasn't. "Itachi, my man, can you keep your antics to a minimal?" I ask. I think Itachi takes absolute pleasuring in bothering his brother as much as he can. "You can taunt him when the dinner is over."

"And what do I get in return for my cooperation?"

I sigh. I don't know. What does one give to a hotel mogul? I smirk when an idea comes to mind. Thank God, I work at a newspaper company. "I promise not to let the story about you and Kisame's activities this past weekend in the Hamptons get published."

Itachi narrows his eyes as an attempt to intimidate me. Unfortunately for him, I live with the bastard. Glares and mean looks don't scare me anymore. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I know the person who has the story. She owes me a favor anyway," I reply. "So do we have a deal? You leave Sasuke alone and I won't let one of the juiciest celebrity stories get published."

Itachi pats me on the shoulder and smirks. "I do not see why not," and walks away.

I blink as I watch him head towards the dining area, feeling like I've made a deal with the devil.

I try to walk further into the area right outside of the dining area without getting detected by the bastard's parents, but unfortunately Sasuke's mother finds me and it doesn't look like I can escape.

Damn it.

"Oh, you must be Naruto!" Sssuke's mother nearly shouts, walking towards me as she drags her husband along.

Oh crap, this is the moment of truth. I may have practiced what I plan to say more than twenty times on my way here. Don't look at me that way, you know you would've done the same if you were in place.

Megumi squeezes my shoulder before heading towards Tsunade and her posse. I can't believe she's leaving me alone.

Okay, Naruto, breathe. Remember what Sasuke's said. They are only his parents, not gods.

"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha," I say in the most polite and professional voice I can muster. And yes, I have also practiced this with Megumi, despite her protests that I didn't need to sound unlike myself.

Surprisingly, Mrs. Uchiha beams at me, takes my hand and eagerly shakes it. "Oh darling, please, by all means, call me Mikoto. You're practically a part of the family."

Judging from his glare, I don't think feels the same way. He glances at his wife, raises an eyebrow at me and walks away without making another sound.

_Shit_.

I screwed up. I know I did. I don't know how. I did everything I was supposed to do. My God, Naruto, all you had to do was _one_ thing and you couldn't even do that right.

Mikoto does not pay attention to her husband. Instead she gives me another smile and wraps an arm around mine as we walk into the dining room. Thankfully, the one person in there at this moment is the server. "It is so nice to finally meet you. My son has told me so much about you."

I blink. _He did_? I thought he didn't contact his parents often. Or maybe he talks to his mom a lot, she seems like a sweetheart. "I hope he says good things."

Mikoto shrugs as she pulls out a chair and sits. "I wouldn't say good things, he normally complains about your love for ramen and the color orange." She chuckles at my embarrassed expression. "But you know how my son is. Depending in the person, his insults are really masked endearments. He does care about you a lot. He may not admit it, he's just like his father, but he does."

We remain silent for a few moments until Mikoto speaks up. She gestures at a chair across from her. "My dear, please sit."

I nod and do what she says. Oh no, I know what's going to happen now. We are going to have an in-law talk. Granted, I rather talk to Sasuke's mom than dad, but still I am not prepared for this conversation.

"First and foremost," Mikoto begins, hopefully not noticing that I'm moments from hyperventilating. I'm not good under this type of pressure. "I want to thank you."

"For what?"

"My son has been lonely for so many years. Up until recently, it seemed that the only relationship he had was with his job. I planned to have an intervention last year, but then Sasuke had told me that he was with you." She claps. "You couldn't imagine how happy I was when I heard the news."

I don't know what to say. Which is very rare, because according to everyone, I always have something to say, good or bad.

I mean, what does on say to that?

"Mrs. Uchiha," one of the servers from heaven says as he comes into the dining room. Seriously, he's my savior. "Mr. Itachi Uchiha requests your presence."

Mikoto nods and stands up. She looks down at me. "My intentions are not to make you feel uncomfortable, Naruto. I am just glad that my son has found someone who can make him happy."

* * *

I emerge from the dining room a few minutes later, still in shock. My God, I didn't except Mrs. Uchiha so say something like _that_. I stare blankly at the server when he announces in a loud voice that dinner will be served in a few minutes.

Oh no, it's about to start.

I'm not panicking. No, I'm over panic attacks. There shouldn't be a reason why all I want to do is get out of this place. Everyone looks like they're getting along. And there shouldn't be a reason why I should panic because Sasuke's father wouldn't stop sending me death glares. Everything is going to turn out fine, just like Megumi and Sasuke said.

Damn it, _none_ of these assurances are working.

The bastard noticing my feverish shuddering, walks towards me, curses under his breath, takes me by the hand and leads me to the hallway. I don't try to fight back like I normally would. I'm too busy trying not to crap in my pants. The bastard stops in the middle of the hallway right across the dining area. "What is it now?"

I look down at the floor.

"Moron, you are perspiring more than usual." He takes a napkin from his pocket and gently wipes my forehead. "Do not tell me you're still hyperventilating about having dinner with my parents and your mom and her friends."

"Of course I am. You know I have anxiety issues."

"I thought you were cured from those?"

He sighs when I shake my head. I rub my hands together frantically and remember the look Sssuke's dad gave me when I introduced myself. I thought he was literally trying to kill me with his eyes. "I think your dad hates me."

The bastard scoffs "My father does not hate you. Trust me, you would know if he did."

"But he was glaring and scowling at me the whole time."

The bastard gives me a look. "That does not mean he hates you."

My eyes widen when the realization hits me. Perhaps the bastard has a point. Maybe this is Mr. Uchiha's twisted way of telling me what he doesn't mind me that much. My god, the bastard is like a younger, perhaps a bit more lively version of his father. No wonder Sasuke acts the way he does, he got his personality from his dad.

Genetics are a crazy thing.

But this still doesn't make me feel better. I mean, this a chance that I can be wrong and Mr. Uchiha really does hate me. Which I can sort of understand, I mean can probably think that I'm only marrying his youngest son for the money, which is not true but-

"Are you finished panicking now?" Sasuke asks, cutting off my inner dialogue like he always does. I swear it's one of his many talents besides finding every way to insult my intelligence. And making insults sound relatively romantic in a twisted way. "We need to go back."

"No, just wait one second," I plead rubbing my hands even more. I can feel my heart beat quicken. Damn it, it looks like I have to pay Ino yet another visit. Oh, she's going to love this and tell me about how I need to stop thinking the worse about everything. "I want to be calm before I go back, okay?"

Sasuke grabs my tie and pulls me into a kiss. "Calm down," he says against my lips as I melt against him. God, his lips are going to be the death of me. "Everything is going to be fine."

I nod as he let me go.

"You okay now?"

"A little better."

* * *

I am sitting between Megumi and Karin. They will be serving as my buffers for the night. The bastard is across from my between Anko and my mother. Kurenai is sitting next to my mother and Itachi is next to Karin. The bastard's parents sit across from each other at the end of the table. Suigestu and Juugo are standing in the doorway.

Sasuke watches his brother like a hawk. It's like he's waiting for Itachi to do something. I should tell him not to worry about it, but I don't think it will be a good idea to tell him about my deal with the devil.

Itachi's mouth slowly turns into a smirk. "What's wrong, little brother? You seem a bit _tense_."

"Itachi, dear, leave your brother alone." Mikoto turns her attention to me. "How is the wedding planning going?" she asks as the servers give everyone the first course. "Karin told me that you hired Sai to be your wedding planner. I think that is such a splendid idea. He is an amazing planner."

"Yes," Sasuke says, glancing at Karin who can't stop grinning. "Simply amazing…"

Mikoto, obviously not catching her son's sarcasm continues, "Where will the wedding reception be held?"

"In the grand ballroom."

"Nice," Anko comments. "That room is huge."

Mikoto simply smiles at Anko's comments. "Indeed it is very nice. We have hosted many weddings in that room. Will the wedding be conducted here?"

Karin and I glance at each other. I decide to answer, "Yes, it is."

"By whom?" Tsunade asks, all of sudden very interested. "I know it's not a pastor. They can't do gay weddings."

I blink. Oh right, Ino didn't tell her like she said she would. Great, just great. "Um… Kakashi?"

Megumi nearly chokes on her water.

"Kakashi Hatake is conducting a gay marriage?" Tsunade asks with a disbelieving look on my face. Oh man, this is not going to end well. "Since when?" She turns her attention from Megumi to me. "Naruto, what is going on?"

"That was not my idea," I say, feeling the need to defend myself. "Ino and Karin thought it was a good idea to hire Kakashi. I didn't think he would _actually_ agree with it."

Karin glares at me.

"Who is this Kakashi Hatake?"

"He's a televangelist." I answer after taking a long sip of wine. I know I shouldn't drink, but I have a bad feeling that this dinner is about to get interesting. "He's from my hometown, and I've known him all my life."

"A televangelist conducting a same-sex marriage," Itachi says, chuckling behind his glass of wine. He chooses not to pay attention to my and Sasuke's dirty looks. "I have heard it all…"

"Your comments are not necessary," the bastard snaps.

"Are they, little brother, _are they_?"

I give Itachi a look. Apparently, he's completely forgotten about our little deal. Sure, he's not embarrassing his brother as much as he usually does. But Sasuke's looking slightly murderous (to me, I don't think the others besides Karin and Itachi are noticing this. Maybe Mr. Uchiha because it's quite obvious that his son inherits his sense of expression from him.)

"Itachi, _please_," Mikoto says, giving her a look that instantly causes the smirk on her son's face to drop.

"Mr. Uzimaki, how did you meet my son?"

Everyone turns their attention to Mr. Uchiha, including his wife who is giving him the same look she gave her son. Sasuke is giving him the glares of all glares and by the way he's holding his wine glass, looks like he's seriously contemplating throwing the glass somewhere. Mr. Ucihiha is not fazed by anything. He only raises an eyebrow, the same way he did before, and patiently waits for my answer.

I look down at my plate, trying to find some way, anyway to explain this. Now I can feel everyone's gaze on me. Shit, I think of a lie and fast. I can't tell him I met his son in a night club. I can't tell him how Sasuke and I got together in the first place. Tsunade doesn't even know about it. Karin doesn't even know about the whole story.

Do I really have to answer this? Can I make believe I'm having a heart attack or something so I can get out of this?

See, this is exactly the reason why I didn't want to have the dinner tonight.

"Uh…"

Good job, Naruto.

This would be a perfect time for the bastard to save my ass.

And the bastard does, not in the way I would like. Of course the bastard doesn't think about lying because he's unfortunately a straight forward person.

"We met at a bar," Sasuke answers for me in a bored tone because apparently my vocal chords have decided to stop working. It's not my fault. I wasn't expecting this question, especially from Mr. Uchiha, who up until a minute ago, I thought didn't speak. "Does that answer your question?"

Megumi chokes on her water again. She's really not helping.

Neither is Itachi who is finding everything extremely hilarious.

And I don't want to talk about the look Mr. Uchiha is giving me. I think about sliding down my chair and hiding under the table, but Karin has a grip on my arm, so my plan can't commence.

"In a bar? You met in a bar?" Tsunade asks, surprised. Oh right, she doesn't know about the whole "Sakura cheating on me so I ended up drinking all of my sorrows away in a night club" story. Well, this is just lovely. "Naruto, since when do you go to bars?"

This is all the bastard's fault. If he didn't agree with Megumi to have this dinner, then I wouldn't have to deal with this right now.

**To be continued.**

**Thanks a whole lot for your responses etc. I love them and they always bring a smile to my face.**


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